Russian officials in Beijing to discuss North Korean nuclear talks

Russia's delegate to six-party North Korean nuclear talks urged his counterparts to find consensus when the talks resume Tuesday.

Diplomats from Russia, China, the United States, Japan and the two Koreas will resume a fourth round of discussions aimed at persuading North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons program, the AP reports.

Russian delegation head Alexander Alexeyev arrived in Beijing on Monday and called on all parties to work toward the adoption of a common document which would lay out the steps needed to denuclearize the North.

The latest round of talks went into a recess early last month after a record 13 days of negotiations in which envoys failed to agree on a statement of principles laying a groundwork for dismantling the North's nuclear weapons programs.

The talks were to resume during the last week of August, but the North demanded a two-week postponement, taking issue with annual joint military exercises between U.S. and South Korean troops and Washington's appointment of a special envoy on human rights in North Korea.