PYONGYANG, November 22. /TASS/. North Korea will not agree to eliminating its nuclear stockpile without reciprocal gestures on behalf of the United States and South Korea, the director of Russia’s Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS), Anton Khlopkov, has told TASS.
"Washington and South Korea need to understand that Pyongyang’s unilateral back-down is totally ruled out," said Khlopkov, who completed his three-day visit to the Communist state on Thursday. "Those who expect [Pyongyang] to surrender in such a manner - and such experts and politicians do exist, even now - are simply fooling themselves."
"The scenario suggested by a number of South Korean experts, under which North Korea gives up its nuclear ambitions and South Korea remains under the US nuclear umbrella, is unrealistic," he went on.
According to the Russian expert, all sides need to act on the basis of reciprocity and respect each other’s national interests to achieve further progress in North Korean denuclearization.
Khlopkov said that the agenda of international talks on North Korea’s nuclear program should include not only security guarantees for the republic, but also its right to use nuclear facilities on its territory for peaceful means.
"In my opinion, the recognition of North Korea’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes should become an important element of settling the situation in the region," the Russian analyst added.
During his three-day visit to Pyongyan, the director of Russia’s Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS) met with officials and members of North Korea’s expert community to discuss nuclear non-proliferation. Those meetings focused on North Korean denuclearization and on ways to further improve relations between Pyongyang and Seoul and put decisions of the Panmunjom and Pyongyang summits into practice.
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas on April 27. It was the first-ever summit meeting between the South and the North over more than ten years. The two leaders signed a joint declaration on peace, prosperity and unification of the Korean Peninsula. Seoul and Pyongyang reiterated that their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and agreed to continue active top-level dialogue. The two Koreas also agreed to kick off a project for linking their rail and motor ways. Their second meeting took place in the same town on May 26.
The third inter-Korean summit this year, and the fifth one in history, took place in Pyongyang from September 18 to September 20. On the outcomes of the summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signed a joint declaration stating that the parties have agreed to put an end to military flights and large-scale artillery firing in border regions.
In addition, Pyongyang and Seoul had agreed to abandon hostile actions in the demilitarized zone separating the two states in order to prevent risks of military engagement, turning the area into a peace zone. The two leaders also decided to establish an inter-Korean military commission to monitor the implementation of military agreements and maintain contact between the two countries’ militaries for the prevention of conflicts.