Russian FM arrives in N. Korea for talks on nuclear dispute

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- Russia's foreign minister arrived in North Korea on Thursday, Pyongyang's state media said, for a two-day trip that may include a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as regional tensions grow.

Sergei Lavrov is scheduled to travel to South Korea after his Pyongyang trip.
Lavrov and his party were greeted at the airport by Kung Sok-ung, North Korea's
vice foreign minister, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief
dispatch. It did not say what the purpose of his trip was or whom he would meet.
Russia's official Itar-Tass news agency said Lavrov is scheduled to meet with his
North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-chun and quoted informed sources as saying he
might also be received by Kim.
The minister's visit comes amid heightened tension surrounding North Korea.
Pyongyang withdrew from nuclear disarmament talks and expelled international
monitors last week in protest over the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of
its April 5 rocket launch.
The disarmament talks, involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan
and Russia, are aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program but were
stalled late last year due to disputes over how to verify Pyongyang's past
nuclear activities.