Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Moscow's top diplomat said Thursday after holding talks with Kim's special envoy.

Russia confirmed that it is ready for contact with North Korea at various levels, including the highest level, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency whether his discussions with the North's special envoy, Choe Ryong-hae, included the possibility of Kim's visit to Russia.

Lavrov also said that the North is ready to return to the six-party nuclear talks without preconditions.

At the start of his meeting with Choe, Lavrov said Choe's visit to Moscow would contribute to creating the conditions for resuming the nuclear talks. Choe said in his opening comments that he hopes Kim and Putin will build a close relationship.

Choe met with Putin on Tuesday and delivered a letter from Kim.

His eight-day trip to Russia suggests that Pyongyang is trying to reach out to Russia for diplomatic and other support amid strained relations with China. Russia has also been at odds with the United States over the situation in Ukraine.

The trip also came as a U.N. General Assembly committee passed a resolution that calls for referring the North to the International Criminal Court for human rights violations. Pyongyang has strongly protested against the resolution.

Lavrov said after meeting Choe that the resolution is "counterproductive."

"We voted against the resolution at the UN General Assembly session," he said. "If our goal is to help all countries fulfil the obligations within the universal documents, aimed at contributing to the respect of human rights and freedoms, a respectful calm professional dialogue is much more in demand." (Yonhap)