Chinese, Russian leaders vow support for dialogue with North Korea

The leaders of China and Russia have agreed to provide their full support for upcoming talks between South Korea, the United States and North Korea, calling the talks an important chance to "positively change" the conditions surrounding the Korean Peninsula, a special envoy of South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday.

They also praised "President Moon's consistent efforts to peacefully denuclearize the Korean Peninsula," Moon's top security advisor Chung Eui-yong said, returning from his trips to the two countries to brief their leaders on the outcome of his March 5-6 visit to Pyongyang where he held unprecedented talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Chung's trip to Beijing and Moscow came shortly after his visit to Washington to directly deliver a proposal from the reclusive North Korean leader to U.S. President Donald Trump to hold what would be the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit.

Trump said he would meet the North Korean leader by May. Upcoming dialogue with the communist North includes an inter-Korean summit. The South-North Korea summit, slated to be held late next month, would be the third of its kind if held.

"Both the leaders of China and Russia greatly welcomed the positive change in conditions on the Korean Peninsula and the mood for reconciliation and cooperation between South and North Korea to that end," Chung said at Seoul's Incheon International Airport.

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While in Beijing earlier this week, Chung met Chinese President Xi Jinping, who he said pledged continued support for Seoul's efforts to improve inter-Korean ties and denuclearize North Korea.

He was unable to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin due to Russia's upcoming presidential election, which is slated for Sunday.

However, he was offered a personal welcome and promise for support of the Russian leader via Putin's close aides, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, aide to the president for international affairs, according to Chung.

"The (Seoul) government will continue to seek the active support of not only these related countries but also the international community, including the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to make sure the summits between the South and the North, the U.S. and the North will be an epochal opportunity for peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula," he said. (Yonhap)