Russia has expressed opposition to referring North Korea's nuclear issue to the U.N. Security Council.

In an interview with Interfax News Agency Wednesday, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Yury Fedetov said Moscow thinks that raising the issue of the North's nuclear standoff in the Security Council would undermine the current negotiation process.

Fedetov said Moscow supports efforts to open a fresh round of six-way nuclear talks.

Late last month, the United States warned that North Korea's nuclear standoff might have to be brought back to the U.N. Security Council if Pyongyang continued to boycott the six-party nuclear talks.

North Korea was referred to the Security Council early last year after it withdrew from the Non-Proliferation Treaty and expelled International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, following Washington's charge that it was involved in nuclear weapons activities. The United Nations made no decision on the issue at the time.