"The United States should have taken some steps toward the Koreans on lifting financial sanctions and discussing this question with them," Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov, the head Russian negotiator on North Korea, was quoted as saying by state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

Losyukov also called on North Korea to reconsider its refusal to rejoin six-party international negotiations over its nuclear programme on account of the US sanctions. "The link is not 100 percent justified," he was quoted as saying.

Six-party negotiations involving the United States, the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and China are aimed at persuading Stalinist North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme.

The process was suspended in late 2005 after North Korea walked out of talks in protest over US financial sanctions.

Washington took punitive measures against a Macau bank accused of illicit dealings on behalf of Pyongyang.

The talks resumed in December last year -- following North Korea's October 9 nuclear weapons test -- and ended in deadlock as Pyongyang insisted the financial sanctions be lifted before it would discuss nuclear disarmament.

On Wednesday, the top US envoy to the six-way talks said in Berlin that he was having "useful discussions" with his Pyongyang counterpart and that he hoped negotiations would resume this month.

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