SEOUL -- A senior official of the South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry on Sunday praised the Moscow Declaration issued Saturday by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a positive step for inter-Korean relations.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the joint declaration is a positive step for the development of inter-Korean ties.

He said the declaration will encourage North Korea to be more open to the outside world, noting that the document expressed support for the declaration issued by the two Koreas in June last year after the first-ever summit between South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and North Korea's Kim and for Russia's constructive role on the Korean Peninsula.