Russia favors nuclear-free Korean Peninsula: minister

MOSCOW, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia favors a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Tuesday.

"We believe the Korean Peninsula must have a nuclear-free status," Serdyukov said after talks with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee.

Serdyukov said Russia and South Korea have "very similar" positions on the nuclear tests conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"The way out is to resume the six-party talks and, within the framework of these talks, to make this region absolutely nuclear-free," Serdyukov said.

Lee said Pyongyang must return to the six-party talks, adding that otherwise, "the five nations will have to make efforts to bring the DPRK back to these talks."

The six-party talks have been stalled since last December due to disputes between the United States and the DPRK over the verification of disabled nuclear facilities.

Tensions have mounted recently because of the DPRK's nuclear tests and rocket launches. The UN Security Council on June 12 adopted a new resolution that allows wider sanctions against the DPRK following its nuclear tests.

The DPRK, however, has rejected the resolution and announced withdrawal from the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.