MOSCOW - Speaker for the lower house of the Russian parliament and chairman of the legislature body of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) condemned the policy of sanctions and trade wars pursued by the United States, an official Russian statement said Tuesday.

"We hope that the time in which sanctions may be imposed on countries, and the time of trade wars will be a thing of the past," the statement quoted Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin as saying here during his meeting with Pak Thae-song, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly.

Volodin said that he doubted such a policy could benefit the United States, because "it's better to live and build trade and economic relations in peace and friendship than to engage in an expansion that brings nothing but tension to the world."

For his part, Pak emphasized that the people of the DPRK are making progress in development despite the tough sanctions against the country. He condemned the lack of practical actions by the United States and South Korea for better bilateral relations.

"Now the United States and the South Korean authorities, instead of responding to our goodwill gestures, are talking about better relations and dialogues in the international arena, but they are introducing a large number of new strike weapons behind our backs, conducting joint military exercises and thus annoying our country, their negotiating partner," he said.