Russia welcomes broader trade with N. Korea but remains committed to UN SC resolutions on Pyongyang - senior diplomat

MOSCOW. July 15 (Interfax) - Moscow welcomes broader trade and economic ties with Pyongyang while remaining committed to the United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding North Korea, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Monday.

"I'd like to confirm that, on the one hand, we support the expansion of trade and economic ties between our countries in every possible way. On the one hand, the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] is our neighbor with which we are developing very close ties in all areas. On the other, Russia remains committed to all norms of international law, including the UN Security Council resolutions on the DPRK," Rudenko told journalists in Moscow when commenting on reports that North Korea was planning to begin exporting apples to Russia in the near future.