Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly Sergei Mironov said in Beijing Monday that it is reasonable to believe that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear issue can get out of its stalemate.

Mironov said in an interview with the Chinese press that Russia welcomes the DPRK's acceptance of the six-party talks on settling the nuclear issue.

Russia holds that the Korean peninsula should be nuclear-free, he said, adding that the DPRK has the right to ask for a guarantee of security when giving up its nuclear plan. Russia is willing, together with other countries, to provide such a guarantee.

Mironov and his party arrived in Beijing Monday morning for a two-day official visit to China.

He spoke highly of the parliamentary cooperation between Russia and China, but said it should not be merely limited to the regular meetings between top parliamentary leaders.

On Russia-China economic and trade relations, Mironov said bilateral trade has improved continuously in recent years. He suggested the two sides further explore cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy, military and space technologies, and timber processing.

Mironov also gave a positive appraisal of the regional cooperation between Russia and China.

"So far, there are about 100 cities in the two countries that have established direct cooperative relations," he said, adding that the number would further increase due to the two countries' vast territory.

On the anti-terrorist cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Mironov said fighting against terrorism is one of the original goals of the SCO and it is seeing positive results from this cooperation. The joint anti-terror exercise held by the SCO will show the vitality and bright prospect of the organization.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 5, 2003)