MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/. If Washington abandoned its efforts to use force in order to infringe on North Korea’s sovereignty, it could help resolve the issue, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Committee for Defense and Security Frants Klintsevich told reporters on Friday.
While commenting on North Korea’s new missile launch, he said that economic pressure on Pyongyang had proved to be ineffective, while military threats only angered the country’s leadership.
"I am almost sure that if the United States made an official statement about abandoning efforts to infringe on North Korea’s sovereignty and influence it by using force, it could change the situation," Klintsevich said.
At the same time, he expressed doubt that UN President Donald Trump would take such a step. "I don’t think that Trump is capable of getting over himself even to achieve the most important task, which is to ensure global security. Besides, such step could be viewed as a weakness in the US," the Russian senator added.
Klintsevich stressed that each new missile launch conducted by North Korea raised tensions in the world, increasing the possibility of a catastrophe. "I still believe such actions to be a pure provocation. Some other wordings may also be used, but all the words have already been said many times. Unfortunately, it has not moved the process any further," the senator said as quoted by his press service.
On Friday, North Korea fired another ballistic missile, which flew over Japan’s Hokkaido Island and plunged into the Pacific Ocean about 2,200 kilometers east of Cape Erimo. Since 1998, it is the sixth North Korean missile to fly over Japan. According to the US and South Korean military, the missile was launched from the Pyongyang area. The missile flew about 3,700 kilometers reaching an altitude of 770 kilometers.