Russia would not back trade and economic sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Tuesday.

United Nations (UN) Security Council sanctions should not exceed the non-proliferation goal, Gatilov said, adding that Russia would not support sanctions that may harm normal trade and economic relations between Moscow and Pyongyang.

"The goal is to resume the six-nation negotiations. We insist on the political and diplomatic settlement of the problem," the senior diplomat told reporters during a press conference in Moscow.

In principle, Russia "was ready to support additional UN Security Council sanctions against the DPRK," which conducted a nuclear test recently, Gatilov added.

The UN Security Council last week strongly condemned the third underground nuclear test conducted by the DPRK, saying the latest move by Pyongyang "is a grave violation" of relevant resolutions of the Council.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2013)