Russia's top North Korea expert has said today the Korean peninsula remains on the brink of disaster as talks between Washington and Pyongyang on resolving a nuclear arms standoff opened in China.
"It is probable that as early as tomorrow events may take a disastrous course," Itar-Tassnews agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov as saying in Tokyo after meeting Japanese officials.
Losyukov, Russia's key expert on North Korea, was quoted as saying he regretted that the row over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions had been "pushed to the limit".
Losyukov met reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il for several hours of talks in January after the United States accused Pyongyang of secretly pressing ahead with its nuclear programme.
US and North Korean negotiators began talks in Beijing earlier on Wednesday aimed at trying to end the row.
Losyukov has welcomed the talks and said Russia, which has good relations with both North and South Korea and shares a tiny border with the North, could join the negotiation process at a later stage, if invited.
The Korean peninsula remains the Cold War's last flashpoint and reclusive North Korea, which talks regularly about war being imminent, fears it could be the next target after the quick US military campaign in Iraq.