MOSCOW The Russian Foreign Ministry Tuesday denied reports that North Korea offered to cover its debt to Russia by supplying workers who will toil unpaid in Russian labor camps across Siberia.

"This issue was not even discussed during the summit," the ministry said in a statement received by AFP.

"As for those North Korean specialists and personnel working in Russia, the conditions of their work are outlined in Russo-Korean accords, which specify, among other things, that they enjoy the same rights as Russian citizens," the ministry added.

Sources quoted by various Russian and foreign media had suggested earlier that North Korea planned to settle the debt by offering free labor to man Russia's timber factories.

Reports claimed that about 90 percent of Pyongyang's debt to Moscow was covered in such a manner last year.

On the eve of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's visit to Russia, which started last week, Pyongyang agreed to cover $5.5 billion in Soviet era debt over the next 30 years.