Russian Talks to N. Korean Leader

A Russian envoy held six hours of talks Monday with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and described the meeting on the international standoff over the North’s nuclear activities as substantive and successful.

The session between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov and Kim was Kim’s first known meeting with a foreigner since the crisis started last fall. Losyukov presented a three-part plan to resolve the crisis that envisions a nuclear-free status for the Korean peninsula, written security guarantees for the North and a humanitarian and economic aid package for the impoverished nation.

Losyukov emerged from the talks at a heavily guarded residence on the outskirts of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, to describe them as successful but offered no details, said Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency.

“The meeting was very substantive. The atmosphere was very warm,” Losyukov said as he left to return to the Russian Embassy. “Moscow is optimistic that a solution to the crisis around North Korea can be found through peaceful means.”

Russia, along with China, is one of the communist North’s few remaining allies and is seen as key to resolving the conflict or arranging direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton, in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials on the crisis, said it was time to take the standoff to the U.N. Security Council. Such a move would increase pressure on the North, because the council can impose international sanctions.

Meanwhile, South Korea said it would use talks with North Korea this week -- officially unrelated to the nuclear issue -- to push for a peaceful solution.