国际英语新闻：DPRK's foreign minister to visit Russia: media

MOSCOW, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun will visit Moscow on Dec. 12-15 for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the Interfax news agency reported Friday.

Lavrov invited Pak to discuss a plan for inter-ministerial exchange for 2011-2012, as well as economic projects.

"We stand for further development of the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries, which meet the core interests of our people and facilitate peace and prosperity in the region," Pak was quoted by Interfax as saying.

He stressed that Pyongyang saw economic relations with Russia as a very important part of bilateral cooperation.

Also on Friday, Russia's Foreign Ministry called on Pyongyang and Seoul to refrain from taking actions that would provoke further tensions.

"The situation is serious today. To our regret, the atmosphere on the peninsula is heated. What counts most today is to take steps to allay tensions on the peninsula," Russian Foreign Minister Grigory Logvinov said.

"We hope that all of the sides concerned would refrain from taking any measures capable of causing tensions to run high," he said.