MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russia calls on Seoul and Pyongyang to demonstrate utmost restraint and avoid actions with use of firearms, Foreign Ministry official spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
"The exchange of artillery fire across the military demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea arises concern," she noted. "We have to draw attention to a general tendency of deteriorating conditions on the Korean Peninsula," the spokesperson stressed.
- Russia hopes Seoul, Pyongyang will not cross "dangerous line" — Russian Foreign Ministry
- North Korean troops use South Korea president’s photo as shooting target — media
- North Korea may conduct nuclear tests in October — deputy UN envoy
- North Korea will not give up nuclear weapons unilaterally — ambassador
"We think that in current circumstances, all sides should demonstrate utmost restraint, refrain from any actions that can aggravate the situation, especially avoiding actions with the use of firearms," Zakharova noted.
The current situation "clearly demonstrates that solution of peninsula’s problems should be found in the context of general military and political detente in North-Eastern Asia, reduction of accumulated confrontational potential in the region," she concluded.
The North Korean army has shelled on Thursday the positions of the South Korean military in the western part of the Demilitarized Zone where loudspeakers used by Seoul in its propaganda campaign against Pyongyang are located. The incident occurred at about 4pm local time (10am Moscow time). The South Korean military opened reprisal fire on the alleged source of the artillery bombardments. The South Korean Ministry of National Defense has confirmed the information about the incident.