North Korea's Nuclear Program is Not of a Military Character?

Russia's position is that more international inspections must be carried out in North Korea to make sure its nuclear program is not of a military character, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said in Tokyo on Wednesday after a round of Russian-Japanese diplomatic consultations.

Russia has spent the recent months pushing for the beginning of a dialogue between North Korea and the USA, said Losyukov. He added that he still was "apprehensive" about the success of Beijing-based tripartite talks involving China dealing with settlement of the crisis surrounding the North Korean nuclear program.

But "the efforts to hold these talks" can nevertheless only be welcomed, he stressed.