President Moon Jae-in and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have held their first summit with talks focused on North Korea and substantive bilateral cooperation.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun said Moon held his first meeting with Putin since taking office on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday.

Regarding North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations, President Moon explained Seoul's stance on pushing for the North's denuclearization through a bold and fundamental approach of utilizing all available means, including sanctions and dialogue.

He also asked for Moscow's active role in bringing Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.

Putin, meanwhile, reaffirmed Russia's stern decision to never allow a nuclear-armed North Korea and expressed support for Seoul's efforts to bring the North back to the table and proposed stronger bilateral cooperation on this issue.

Moon stressed that Russia, which borders the Korean Peninsula, is an ideal partner for building peace and prosperity in Eurasia. He called for practical advancement in strategic partnership ties between the two countries based on trust between the leaders.

Putin also said South Korea is an important partner and urged expansion in mutually beneficial cooperative relations on many fronts and the two leaders agreed to further intensify cooperation in developing the Russian Far East.

To this end, Putin invited Moon as a guest of honor to the upcoming Eastern Economic Forum to be held in Vladivostok in early September.

Spokesman Park said Moon gladly accepted the invitation. 


 

[Photo : ]