Chinese, Russian leaders to hold talks next month

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold summit talks early next month on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in St.Petersburg, officials said Friday.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday in Moscow and agreed on the Xi-Putin talks during the upcoming G20 summit, set for Sept. 5-6, China's foreign ministry said in a statement.

During Thursday's meeting, Yang and Lavrov "also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula situation, Iranian nuclear issue, Syria and other issues," the statement said, without elaborating further.

China and Russia are members of the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The six-nation forum,also involving the two Koreas, the U.S. and Japan, have been at a standstill since late 2008.

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Cho Tae-yong, made a three-day visit to Moscow this week and met with his Russian counterpart Igor Morgulov.   

After meeting with Morgulov, Cho told Korean correspondents there that the resumption of the six-party talks is unlikely within the year, saying that North Korea has not demonstrated its willingness for denuclearization through actions. (Yonhap)