MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Sanctions will not force North Korea to abandon its missile and nuclear program and the solution to this issue may be only achieved through talks, Russia’s Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Timonin said in an interview with TASS.
"The Russian side does not share the extremely tough approach of the US and its regional allies towards North Korea," the ambassador said. "It is clear for us that it is wrong to expect that the sanctions and pressure will sooner or later lead to North Korea’s breakdown or force the country’s leadership to make serious concessions on the principal issues."
"We believe that the only solution to the nuclear and other issues of the Korean Peninsula is to continue political and diplomatic efforts with the goal of returning North Korea to the six-party talks," he said. "In a broader international context, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula should be carried out in the framework of the overall military and political detente in Northeast Asia, reducing the level of military confrontation and forming the basis for mutual confidence between the regional states."
"Russia, just as South Korea, does not accept North Korea’s self-proclaimed nuclear status," he said. "We are confident that the policy aimed at boosting the nuclear missile capacity is not conducive to ensuring Pyongyang’s security and can lead to further aggravation of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and irreparable consequences for the situation in the region as a whole."
"Relying on these considerations, the Russian side supported UN Security Council Resolutions 2270 and 2321 passed in 2016 over nuclear missile tests in the North and has consistently complied with the provisions of these documents," the diplomat said.
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Timonin noted that Russia does not share the excessively tough approach towards North Korea by the US and its regional allies. "For us it is obvious that hopes that sanctions and pressure will sooner or later trigger North Korea’s collapse or force top officials in that country to make serious concessions on key issues are futile," he went on to say. "We adhere to an opinion that the only way of tackling the nuclear and other issues of the Korean Peninsula is the continuation of political and diplomatic efforts with a view to returning North Korea to the six-party negotiating table."
The ambassador added that the final denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula "must be carried out within the framework of the overall easing of tensions in the military and political sphere in Northeast Asia, reducing the level of military confrontation and laying the foundation for mutual trust between the countries in the region."