Russia has called for a rapid resumption...

"We call for resuming the six-party talks on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula on the basis which was agreed in September, 2005...We hope that other participants will look into the swift resumption of these negotiations," Lavrov said.

The six-party talks, involving Russia, Japan, China, the United States, North and South Korea came to a halt last April when Pyongyang pulled out of the negotiations in protest against the United Nations" condemnation of its missile tests.

Lavrov made the statement after North Korea said on Wednesday it would not abandon its nuclear weapons program, but was ready to take part in non-proliferation efforts together "with other nuclear weapons states."

North Korea claims to be a nuclear weapons state after conducting two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, though the status has never been internationally confirmed.

"We will produce as many nuclear weapons as we think necessary, but we will neither participate in the nuclear

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