Russia says Pyongyang wants direct talks with Washington: agencies

Lavrov said he had passed on Pyongyang's desire for direct talks to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when the two men met on the sidelines of a conference in Vienna on Thursday, the agencies reported.

"We know that North Korea wants above all to talk to the United States about guarantees for its security. We are ready to support that, we are ready to take part in facilitating such negotiations," Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

"Our American colleagues, (including) Rex Tillerson, have heard this."

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Alison Williams)