Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov told the ITAR-TASS news agency that the positions of Washington and Pyongyang still remained far apart and that all sides should be prepared for a patient and gradual approach to the negotiations.

"We should not expect a breakthrough" at the new round of negotiations, Losyukov said.

"There is a great gap in positions between Washington and Pyongyang. But we do not need breakthroughs -- we need understanding about the course of the negotiations," he said.

Losyukov oversees Asian affairs in the Russian foreign ministry and is expected to represent Moscow at the next round of the Beijing talks.

His comments came as North Korea confirmed February 25 as the date for a second round of meetings in a move that rekindled hopes for an end to the 15-month crisis over its nuclear weapons drive.

The key stumbling block had been North Korea's insistence on concessions from Washington that include an end to sanctions and a resumption of fuel aid in return for a promise to freeze its nuclear program.

Washington said it would offer no rewards to the regime branded part of an "axis of evil" by US President George W. Bush until it agreed to a complete, irreversible and verifiable end to its nuclear weapons drive.

Analysts said the gulf between the two positions remained wide and detected no softening from Washington.

Losyukov told ITAR-TASS he expected the talks to evolve into an "extended process ... We have to move in stages."

Losyukov added that he did not expect any formal document to be signed at the next round of negotiations.

The six nations taking part in the talks are China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

The standoff between the United States and North Korea erupted in October last year when Washington said Pyongyang had admitted to running a secret uranium-enrichment program in violation of a 1994 accord with the United States.

Russia has urged Washington to sign a formal non-aggression pact with the Stalinist state, which Washington has refused to do, and has generally lobbied for North Korea's defense interests in recent months.

WAR.WIRE