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Russia and North Korea agree closer ties ahead of summit

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un pledged stronger ties between the two countries ahead of talks in Vladivostok today.

The pair discussed denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula with the Russian premier offering to support talks between Pyongyang and Washington which collapsed earlier this year.

Speaking ahead of the summit, Mr Kim said he hoped for “a very useful meeting in developing the relationship between the two countries, who have a long friendship and history, into a more stable and sound one.”

He said the meeting was a “very meaningful one-on-one exchange of opinions on issues of mutual interest and current issues.”

It was an important show of strength to the US, underlining that North Korea has other powerful allies.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s view was that six-party talks, involving the two Koreas as well as China, Japan, Russia and the US were the only way forward in resolving the nuclear issue.

“There are no other efficient international mechanisms at the moment,” he said 

“But, on the other hand, efforts are being made by other countries. Here all efforts merit support as long as they really aim at denuclearisation and resolving the problem of the two Koreas.”

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