The possible launch of a long-range missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would be extremely untimely, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said on Friday.

"Our position is that the launch of such a device would be extremely undesirable now," Kislyak told a news briefing.

All sides involved in the negotiating process on the DPRK's issue are interested in more six-nation talks, which involve the DPRK, the United States, Russia, China, South Korea and Japan, he said.

"Everything should be done to create all necessary conditions for the most substantive dialogue on this problem," Kislyak said.

Meanwhile, Washington opposed the possible missile launch by the DPRK.

At a joint press conference with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the White House on Thursday, U.S. President George W. Bush said the test launch would be unacceptable.

"We both agreed that it's very important for us to remain united in sending a clear message" to the DPRK leadership, Bush said

Japanese and South Korean media have claimed that the DPRK might be prepared to test fire a long-range missile. The DPRK has so far made no comments on the issue.

Source: Xinhua