国际英语新闻：Russia calls for dialogue between DPRK and ROK

MOSCOW, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russia is concerned about rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula and hopes that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea's (ROK) will resume dialogue, Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

"We hope that restraint, responsibility and prudence will prevail. (We hope) Pyongyang and Seoul will be able to resume dialogue and gradually develop cooperation on a wide range of issues," the statement said.

"We also expect that, as a result of coordinated efforts by China, DPRK and ROK, Russia, the U.S., and Japan, it will be possible to relaunch negotiations on the nuclear issues of the Korean Peninsula," it added.

The ministry also stressed in the statement that Moscow will continue to actively participate in the process of resolving the issues.

Also on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov regretted that the UN Security Council Sunday failed to reach a consensus on the crisis of the Korean Peninsula.