Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Moscow for a five-day visit to Russia.

Ban is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Tuesday and make arrangements for President Roh Moo-hyun's first trip to Moscow later this month. They will also discuss North Korea's nuclear impasse and other pending bilateral issues.
Roh had tentatively planned to visit Russia in July, but his plan was put on hold after he was suspended from office following the National Assembly's impeachment against him in March.

On Monday, Ban is also scheduled to meet Sergei Darkin, Governor of Russia's Maritime Province, in Moscow for talks on a plan to link inter-Korean and trans-Siberian railways and on fisheries cooperation.