MOSCOW Oct 21 Kyodo A senior Russ...

MOSCOW Oct 21 Kyodo

A senior Russian guidance official said Monday the United States has given ''confidential information'' to Russia above North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons program and Moscow intends to unfold the issue through diplomatic channels.

''We will retain close contacts with the United States, North Korea, southern Korea and Japan,'' Russian Vice Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov told reporters after a meeting with senior U diplomat John Bolton.

Prior to the meeting, Bolton, the U undersecretary of state for arms superintendence and international security, told reporters that the Russian regulation shares the same concerns with Washington in succession U.S. allegations that North Korea has a covert program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.

The North Korean nuclear issue surfaced last week after Washington announced that North Korea has admitted that it has been clandestinely developing nuclear weapons.

Bolton, who is onward a two-day visit to Moscow also met with Russian Nuclear spiritedness Minister Yurievich Rumyantsev and Russia's Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo upon Monday.

Bolton has traveled to Japan, southern Korea and China to explain the U policy in succession North Korea and is awaited to visit Britain, France and the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels.

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