Russia, North Korea Inch Closer on Piped Gas

Russia and North Korea are said to have arrived at a preliminary agreement for the proposed gas pipeline project.

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev ordered Gazprom chief Alexei Miller to seriously pursue with North Korea the construction of a 1700-km pipeline from Russia to South Korea through the isolated nation.

"As regards the gas cooperation, talks have yielded results,” Medvedev was quoted by the agency as saying after a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-Il  in the eastern mountains of Siberia.

“We have directed our ministries to set up an ad hoc commission to determine the specific parameters of bilateral cooperation on gas transit via North Korea and to get [South Korea] participate in this project,” Medvedev said.

The pipeline project has been stalled for years with the South Koreans unwilling to proceed without satisfactory clarity on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

Source: Interfax