Russia hopes for successful Trump-Kim summit: Seoul's nuclear envoy

MOSCOW, June 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy said Tuesday that Russia has expressed hopes for a successful summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un planned for next week.

The remark by Lee Do-hoon, representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, was made after meeting with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Moscow to exchange views on recent developments on the nuclear issue.

Lee departed for Russia on Monday as part of Seoul's move to drum up international support for ongoing efforts to denuclearize North Korea. His trip came ahead of the U.S.-North Korea summit slated to take place in Singapore on June 12.

Lee said he was briefed about Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's recent visit to North Korea, during which the North expressed its strong will to denuclearize.

"Russia also said it invited Kim to visit Russia when Lavrov was in Pyongyang," Lee told reporters, adding that the detailed timeline for the North Korean leader's visit does not seem to have been decided yet.
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