Russia not opposed to five-party meeting over NKorea nuke problem.

MOSCOW, June 24 (Itar-Tass) - Russia is not opposed to a five-party meeting over the settlement of North Korea's nuclear problem (with the participation of the United States, South Korea, Japan, and China), but there are no concrete plans as yet, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin said after consultations with his South Korean colleague Vi Son Nak on Wednesday.

"We're not rejecting other formats of talks over North Korea's nuclear
program," Borodavkin underlined, "we're not rejecting the five-party
format; the main thing is that the agenda be focused on the necessity of
resuming the six-party format."
The Russian deputy foreign minister said there were no concrete plans
to hold a five-party meeting yet.
Earlier, the mass media reported a possibility to hold a five-party
meeting involving representatives of Russia, China, the United States,
South Korea, and Japan, within the framework of ASEAN events, scheduled
for July on the island of Phuket, Thailand.
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