UPDATE - Russian FM meets North Korean leader in Pyongyang

UPDATES WITH LAVROV MEETINGS WITH KIM, NORTH KOREAN FM; LAVROV QUOTES

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday met with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to Pyongyang.

Lavrov, who arrived in Pyongyang earlier in the day, becomes his country’s first foreign minister to travel to the North in nine years, but he did host his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho in Moscow this April.

According to the statement, published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's official website, Lavrov and Kim discussed bilateral relations, including an upcoming visit of the head of Russian parliament’s upper chamber to North Korea and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

“There was a substantive exchange of views on the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula, with an emphasis on deepening coordination of efforts aimed at finding political and diplomatic settlement to the entire range of issues in the subregion,” the statement said.

Lavrov also invited Kim to visit Russia on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

North Korea appears to be boosting ties with friendly neighbors, as Chairman Kim Jong-un has been to China on two occasions since March, having never been abroad before in his capacity as leader.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang has been holding direct dialogue with its stated enemies South Korea and the United States, even promising to pursue peace and denuclearization.

Kim’s outreach is set to escalate further if he holds an unprecedented summit with U.S. President Donald Trump as planned on June 12 in Singapore, though Trump’s erratic cancellation and then uncancellation of the meeting has thrown it into doubt.

Onlookers suggest the North may be seeking economic relief, having faced years of escalating sanctions – especially since Trump took office last year.

Speaking at a news conference following his meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Young-ho, Lavrov said Russia hailed inter-Korean summits and an upcoming North Korea-U.S. meeting.

“We consider it very important to approach these contacts with utmost sensitivity […] This will allow not only the denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula, but also ensure sustainable peace and stability throughout North-East Asia”, he said.

Lavrov asserted there is no solution to Korean Peninsula’s nuclear problem until sanctions against Pyongyang are removed.

“How to move to this, it is a question of the art of negotiators, but this cannot be done in one fell swoop [...] Therefore, there should be stages and counter movement at each of these stages,” he said.

* Elena Teslova in Moscow contributed to this report.