Russia hopes that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will return to the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin said on Wednesday.

The DPRK's decision to withdraw from the six-party negotiations "evokes regret and disappointment" and "should be reconsidered," Borodavkin, head of Russia's delegation to the six-party talks, told a press conference after talks with Wi Sung-lac, South Korea's top nuclear envoy.

"We use all diplomatic means to persuade the DPRK to return to the six-party process," Borodavkin was quoted as saying by the Itar-Tass news agency.

The six-party talks, which involve the DPRK, South Korea, the United States, Russia, China and Japan, have been stalled since last December.

Russia is not against holding a five-party consultation session without the participation of the DPRK, but there are no concrete plans for such a meeting so far, the envoy said.

"We are not rejecting any format of a conversation on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue," he said, adding that the five countries should focus their efforts on persuading the DPRK to return to the negotiating table.

At a South Korea-U.S. summit in Washington last week, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak proposed the five-party talks amid tensions aggravated by the DPRK's recent nuclear moves.

Source: Xinhua