South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Song Min-soon has stressed the need for Russia's help in resolving the dispute over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Song is visiting Russia since Wednesday to discuss ways to persuade North Korea to rejoin the six-party talks.

He told his Russian counterpart Alexander Alekseyev Friday that he hopes both countries can find a way to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue as soon as possible.

Alekseyev agreed with Song's call for the earliest possible resumption of the stalled negotiations.

A fourth round of the six-party talks over the North Korean nuclear weapons issue has yet to be scheduled.

In their two-hour meeting, Song explained the results of the trilateral talks between South Korea, the United States and Japan on Feb. 26, and the Seoul visit by China's chief nuclear negotiator Wu Dawei last week.

The South Korean minister also appealed for Russia to play its role to other prominent officials and academics. He first met with deputy minister of foreign affairs Valery Loshchinin, followed by a meeting with Nodari Simonia, a regional specialist at the Russian Academy of Science, on Thursday.

Song's visit to Moscow came as his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill traveled to Tokyo and Washington this week to discuss the nuclear issue.