Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his visiting South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak held talks here Monday, pledging to boost trade and economic ties and push forward talks on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

NUCLEAR CONCERNS

"Russia consistently speaks in favor of securing the nuclear-free status of the peninsula and progress at the six-nation talks," Medvedev told a press conference following talks with Lee in the Kremlin, referring to the nuclear talks that involve the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.

"We think that it is necessary to continue this line and the line aimed at carrying out political, economic and humanitarian contacts between North and South Korea in the spirit of agreements earlier reached at the previous summits in 2000 and 2007," said the Russian president.

Russia will enhance cooperation with South Korea at the level of strategic partnership, Medvedev noted, adding that the two countries will promote high-level political dialogue and contact between government agencies, business circles and the two peoples.

Lee said that South Korea and Russia are concerned about the DPRK's decision to resume its nuclear activities.

"We, together with President Dmitry Medvedev, expressed concerns over North Korea's measures to suspend the deactivation of its nuclear facilities," Russian media quoted Lee as saying.

South Korea and Russia have "agreed on tight cooperation on reaching a peaceful resolution of the North Korean problem," Interfax news agency cited him as saying.

The DPRK blew up the cooling tower of its atomic reactor on June 27 to demonstrate its commitment to nuclear disarmament, a day after handing over details of its nuclear programs to China, president of the six-party talks.

DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Pak Kil Yon, however, accused the United States of breaking a six-party nuclear agreement and vowed to take countermeasures in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly's general debate Saturday.

Under the 2007 pact, the DPRK pledged to disable its nuclear program in a step toward its eventual dismantlement of nuclear facilities in exchange for diplomatic concessions and energy aid.

But the accord has been in stalemate due to disputes over the verification of the nuclear declaration between the DPRK and the United States.

ECONOMIC TIES

Medvedev hailed Russian-South Korean cooperation in such sectors as energy, transport and construction, saying bilateral trade will total 20 billion U.S. dollars this year amid rapid growth.

"Bilateral trade grows considerably, we speak about a multifold growth ... We will also take steps to optimize bilateral trade," Itar-Tass quoted him as saying.

A joint statement adopted after the talks said that Moscow and Seoul have agreed to liberalize bilateral trade, while South Korea supports Russia's strive for World Trade Organization membership and Russia welcomes South Korea's involvement in its oil and gas industry.

"The sides will interact closely for the sake of successful development of hydrocarbons on the Russian continental shelf, including that in West Kamchatka," the statement said.

Russia and South Korea will also continue cooperating in implementing the project to link the Trans-Korean and Trans-Siberian railways, it said.

A package of agreements was also signed in the presidents' presence, including a memorandum of understanding on organizing natural gas shipments from Russia to South Korea, an intergovernmental agreement to relax visa procedures for brief mutual visits and a framework agreement on cooperation in geology and use of subsoil resources.

The South Korean president arrived in Moscow Sunday for a three-day official visit to Russia, becoming the first South Korean president to travel to Russia in his inaugural year.

Editor: Yan