UN sanctions against North Korea must continue until it halts its nuclear program, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin said on Thursday.

"We support UN Security Council Resolution 1784. The sanctions against North Korea must be fulfilled," Borodavkin said after talks with his South Korea counterpart, Vee Son Nak.

He said that Pyongyang's security should be ensured by international law, not through nuclear deterrence.

U.S. special envoy to North Korea Stephen Bosworth, who visited the country last week, has said the five nations involved in talks with Pyongyang over its nuclear program supported the ongoing sanctions against the communist state.

On the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, involving Russia, the two Koreas, China, Japan and the U.S., he said it remained uncertain when they could be resumed.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told journalists on Wednesday that during his visit Bosworth handed a letter from U.S. President Barack Obama for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

"I can only confirm there was such a letter, but I cannot discuss the content or the tone," Kelly said.

The six-party talks came to a halt in April when Pyongyang pulled out of the negotiations in protest against the United Nations' condemnation of its missile tests.

MOSCOW, December 17 (RIA Novosti)