MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia reiterates its calls for a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear crisis as well as other issues troubling the Korean peninsula, Director of Russian Foreign Ministry’s First Asian Department Georgiy Zinoviev said on Tuesday.

"Russia has consistently advocated for the peaceful settlement of nuclear and other issues of the Korean Peninsula", Zinoviev said at a reception hosted by the North Korean Embassy to Russia.

Moscow commends Pyongyang over continuing efforts to alleviate tensions on the peninsula, the official noted.

"We note with satisfaction that the positive trends in the development of the situation in the sub-region, outlined last year, are continuing. We commend the initiative steps and efforts undertaken in this direction by the leadership of North Korea", Zinoviev said.

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Pyongyang has made relatively rapid progress in nuclear research, reportedly conducting atomic tests and testing a series of ICBMs.

In response, the UN Security Council and the international community have repeatedly adopted economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea. After a flurry of diplomacy culminating in a June 2018 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, Pyongyang agreed to denuclearize.

During the historic meeting, the sides reached an agreement stipulating that North Korea would make efforts to promote the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for the United States and South Korea freezing their military exercise and potentially lifting the sanctions.

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North Korea's denuclearization efforts is further expected to be discussed at the next summit between Kim and Trump on 27-28 February in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

A Russian Foreign Ministry source told Sputnik Monday that Moscow is interested in the success of the US-North Korea summit in Hanoi.