The foreign ministers of South Korea and Russia met on Friday to discuss the resumption of the six-party nuclear talks, North Korea’s recent rocket launch and other issues of mutual concern.

At the talks in Seoul, Yu Myung-hwan and Sergei Lavrov agreed on close cooperation to resume the six-party talks at the earliest possible date. Pyongyang recently announced its plans to boycott the multilateral talks in response to a U.N. Security Council presidential statement condemning the North’s April fifth rocket launch.

Lavrov, who was in the North earlier in the week to meet with Pyongyang officials, told a joint news conference that the North had no intention of returning to the nuclear talks for the time being. He then emphasized the importance of the resumption of the six-party talks.

In response to the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions against North Korea, the Russian minister said he believed them to be “unconstructive.” He then insisted all participants of the nuclear talks should carry out their obligations under six-party agreements.

Lavrov will pay a courtesy visit to President Lee Myung-bak before returning to Russia on Saturday.