North and South Korea have remained technically at war since 1953 because no peace treaty was signed following the Korean War. The Demilitarized Zone between the countries serves as a buffer zone and the de-facto border.

“Nothing … should be imposed on the partners, otherwise the process will become destructive instead of having a positive outcome,” the Russian president told the radio and television network, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin.

“And, on the contrary, if the partners’ interests are respected with consideration for the obvious longing of the people … this process can be very fruitful, constructive and bring great and positive results for the international politics, ensuring security in the region, as well as for the economics of the rapidly developing region,” he said.

Putin said such a process was positive for Russia, adding that “cooperation between Russia and Korea as a whole would take on even new aspects” and joint infrastructure projects would be easier to implement.

The Russian leader also said Moscow had a “good and even trusting relationship” with South Korea and had also maintained “good contacts” with the North.

“This is a kind of advantage that Russia has and that, without any doubt, we intend to and we will take to get things moving,” he said in the interview.