Russia welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's visit to North Korea

Russia welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's visit to North Korea and hopes it will help reduce tensions, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Tuesday. "We have always encouraged efforts aimed at stopping the isolation of North Korea, aimed at integrating North Korea into international relations," Ivanov told a news conference. "We are pleased that Washington has responded to our call. We hope that after Mrs. Albright's visit, the United States will give up its vision of North Korea as a rogue state." , The Associated Press reports. Advocates of a U.S. national missile defence system point to North Korea, believed to have nuclear weapons capacity or to be developing it, as a prime example of the threat posed by "rogue states."