South Korean Foreign

Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Thursday urged Pyongyang to return

to the six-party talks on nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should

stop raising regional tensions and rejoin the six-party talks, Yu said

at his monthly press briefing here.

"I can't help expressing serious concern that the North (DPRK)

is declining the international community's agreement and further

damaging all the accomplishments in the six-party talks," he said.

In response to local media's questions on the possibility of

another nuclear test by the DPRK, the minister said the DPRK

"should not exacerbate the situation any more, follow the UN

Security Council statement and push for denuclearization."

So as to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's ongoing visit

to Pyongyang, Yu said that Seoul has closely consulted with

Moscow on the regional issues, adding that South Korean-Russian

consultations are closely underway as Russia is an important

member of the six-party talks.

Lavrov started his two-day visit to Pyongang on Thursday and is

reportedly to meet with DPRK's officials, including his counterpart

Pak Ui-chun and Parliamentary Speaker Kim Yong-nam.

Lavrov will visit South Korea after wrapping up his stay in

Pyongyang.

The DPRK announced in mid-April to quit the six-party talks and

expelled the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) observers

from its territory in protest of the United Nations (UN) Security

Council's presidential statement on its launch of a rocket earlier,

which the DPRK claims to be a satellite.