Russia has denied reports that it held closed‑door talks with South Korea in Moscow on North Korea’s nuclear program.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement Sunday that critics of Russia’s cooperation with North Korea were making fruitless efforts to undermine the two nations’ strategic partnership and stir mistrust between their governments and people.

The statement followed South Korean media reports citing diplomatic sources who said officials from Seoul and Moscow recently met in the Russian capital to discuss North Korea‑related issues, including its nuclear program.

According to the sources, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official overseeing North Korea’s nuclear affairs made an unannounced trip to Moscow to meet with Oleg Burmistrov, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy for North Korea’s nuclear issue.

Zakharova said Russia was not holding any consultations with South Korea and had not discussed matters affecting inter‑Korean relations, particularly the North Korean nuclear issue, which she claimed does not exist for Russia.

She dismissed the reports as false and not based on fact, adding that Russia’s policy toward cooperation with North Korea remains consistent and principled. She also said Moscow would not forget Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s operations in Ukraine.