Russia says Pyongyang wants direct talks with Washington

MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that North Korea wants direct talks with the United States to seek guarantees on its security from Washington, Russian news agencies reported.

Lavrov said he had passed on Pyongyang's desire for direct talks to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when the two men met on the sidelines of a conference in Vienna on Thursday, the agencies reported.

"We know that North Korea wants above all to talk to the United States about guarantees for its security. We are ready to support that, we are ready to take part in facilitating such negotiations," Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

"Our American colleagues, (including) Rex Tillerson, have heard this."