MOSCOW. Feb 4 (Interfax) - Tripartite economic projects of Russia, North Korea and South Korea help normalize relations between the North and the South of the Korean Peninsula, North Korean Ambassador to Russia Kim Yong Jae said.

"We are absolutely positive that inter-Korean economic contacts and trilateral relations and projects involving Russia contribute to an improvement of inter-Korean relations and the unification process," Kim replied to an Interfax question at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.

"However, economic cooperation can be successful only on the condition of peace and stability, in the absence of reciprocal accusations and slander, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and a spirit of mutual assistance," the ambassador opined.

"One cannot expect successful development of the relations we are speaking about if the current hostile relationship prevails and one side constantly commits acts of provocation against the other," he said.

The North Korean administration had made a number of propositions to the Republic of Korea seeking to improve bilateral relations. "The initiatives mentioned by Kim Jong Un in his New Year