No co-operation yet between Russia and U.S. on North Korea, Kremlin says

There is no co-operation between Russia and the U.S. on the North Korea issue for the time being, the RIA news agency cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying on Saturday.

"There is no co-operation so far. Only periodic exchanges of views," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump may meet at the APEC summit in Vietnam next week.

Peskov was commenting as Trump prepares for a five-country visit of Asia, where leaders have been rattled by his rhetoric about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The North's growing missile arsenal threatens the capitals Trump will visit during his 11-day tour, which begins in Japan on Sunday.

• As U.S., North Korea escalate war of words, could Putin be a voice of reason?
• Trump calls former campaign aide at centre of Russia probe 'a liar'
• UN Security Council approves new North Korea sanctions

The three-day Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) economic leaders' meeting begins next Friday in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Trump told Fox News in an interview late on Thursday that it was possible he would meet with Putin during the trip.

"We may have a meeting with Putin," he said. "And, again Putin is very important because they can help us with North Korea. They can help us with Syria. We have to talk about Ukraine."

"It [the meeting] is indeed being discussed," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "It's hard to overestimate the importance and significance for all international matters of any contact between the presidents of Russia and the United States."

Putin and Trump first met at a G20 summit in Hamburg in July when they discussed allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. election last year, but agreed to focus on better ties rather than litigating the past.

But relations between Moscow and Washington have soured further since then.

Sanctions impede improved relations

Trump in August grudgingly signed off on new sanctions against Russia, a move Moscow said ended hopes for better ties. Putin ordered Washington to cut its embassy and consular staff in Russia by more than half.

• Trump signs into law new sanctions against Russia, calling them 'seriously flawed'

If a Trump-Putin meeting comes about, it would come as investigations in Washington over alleged Russian meddling in last November's U.S. presidential election and possible collusion by the Trump campaign yielded its first indictments.

U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller's office this week announced charges against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, Manafort associate Richard Gates and campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos. Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty, while Papadapoulos pleaded guilty.

The Wall Street Journal also has reported that U.S. authorities have enough evidence to charge six members of the Russian government in the hacking of Democratic National Committee computers during the 2016 campaign.