North Korea is prepared to impose a moratorium on the production and testing of nuclear weapons, the country's leader Kim Jong-il told Russian president Dmitry Medvedev today, in a move that could help pave the way for a resumption of stalled nuclear disarmament talks.
The promise of a moratorium came during a summit meeting between Mr Kim, 69, and Mr Medvedev, who flew nearly 3,500 miles across Russia to a Siberian military base to hold the first meeting between the former Cold War allies for nearly a decade.
Reporting on the summit, a spokeswoman for Mr Medvedev said Mr Kim was ready to resume talks that stalled in 2009 without preconditions. The spokesman stated that "in the course of the talks North Korea will be ready to resolve the question of imposing a moratorium on tests and production of nuclear missile weapons."
