The top U.S. nuclear envoy met with a senior Russian official to discuss North Korea's denuclearization ahead of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's trip to Russia next week. 

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said that U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Moscow on Thursday.

The embassy said the two officials discussed respective bilateral engagements with the North and efforts to achieve the "final, fully verified denuclearisation of North Korea."

Calling the talks "constructive," the embassy noted the officials addressed a number of areas of shared understanding between the two nations with respect to the North and committed to continue dialogue to bridge any gaps going forward. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said in a statement that the deputy minister and Biegun exchanged opinions regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula. 

Biegun is thought to have explained the stalled negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang after their failed second summit in Hanoi and asked for Moscow's cooperation in the enforcement of sanctions against the North.

[Photo : YONHAP News]