Russia has welcomed plans for North and South Korea to start military talks in an effort to end months of confrontation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin said on Friday.
"Russia has expressed satisfaction over the intention of Seoul and Pyongyang to begin a military dialogue," Borodavkin said after holding talks with the South Korean Ambassador in Moscow.
South Korea accepted on Thursday the North's call for high-ranking inter-Korean talks to resolve pending bilateral military issues and try to defuse tension on the peninsula.
A telegram earlier in the week signed by North Korean Defense Minister Kim Young-chun was sent to his Southern counterpart, Kim Kwan-jin, calling for the high-level officials from the two Koreas to hold a meeting.
Pyongyang said it was ready to discuss any issue, including the North's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship in March and the artillery strike on the South's Yeonpyeong Island in November.
North Korea has repeatedly proposed holding the negotiations with South Korea over the past weeks, but Seoul rejected the offers.
Seoul said it will next week propose a date for working-level talks with North Korea to prepare a high-level defense meeting, Yonhap said on Friday.
MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti)
