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Moscow expects concrete results at six-party talks on N. Korea

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MOSCOW, December 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia welcomes the resumption of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, scheduled to resume December 18, and hopes for concrete results, a diplomatic official said Monday.

"We hope the negotiations will be constructive and will yield concrete results as to how to defuse tensions surrounding the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said.

The talks, involving North Korea, South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the United States, were launched in 2003 to persuade North Korea to give up its controversial nuclear program after Pyongyang withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The talks stalled in November 2005 over Pyongyang's demand that the U.S. lift sanctions imposed on it for its alleged involvement in counterfeiting and other illegal activities.

Kamynin reiterated that Russia has consistently spoken in favor of a political resolution of the issue.

Following North Korea's announcement that it conducted its first nuclear test October 9, the UN Security Council passed a special resolution October 14 blocking all deliveries to North Korea of materiel with potential military applications.

Pyongyang's nuclear test provoked widespread calls in the Japanese leadership for a stronger strategic defense capability, and Pyongyang subsequently accused Japan of obstructing talks and demanded Japan's withdrawal from the negotiations.

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