Russia appoints new chief envoy for N. Korea nuclear talks

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- Russia has appointed one of its deputy foreign ministers to head its delegation to the stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. Igor Morgulov, who was reportedly promoted to one of the deputy foreign minister positions last week, was named the lead delegate to the six-nation nuclear talks, replacing Alexei Borodavkin, who had served as Moscow's top envoy for more than three years, ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae said. "The Russian side notified us two days ago that Deputy Foreign Minister Morgulov was named chief negotiator to the six-party talks," Cho said. Earlier in the day, a diplomatic source in Seoul said, "(The replacement) has been viewed as aimed at increasing Russia's influence over discussions on the Korean Peninsula." Last week, Russia's Interfax news agency reported the promotion of Morgulov. Officials at the Russian Embassy in Seoul were not immediately available for comment. The six-party talks, which involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S., have been dormant since the last session in late 2008. Besides China, the five other nations have replaced their chief envoys to the multilateral forum so far this year. Diplomatic efforts to get North Korea back to the negotiations had been gaining momentum since early this year, but the Dec. 17 death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il left prospects for resuming the six-party talks more uncertain. Prior to Kim's death, North Korea had been expected to announce an agreement with the U.S. to suspend its uranium enrichment program and accept U.N. nuclear monitors in exchange for food aid. Such moves by North Korea were preconditions set by the U.S. and South Korea for resuming the six-party talks. (END)