MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Russia is not hashing over the lifting of sanctions against North Korea at the UN Security Council, this issue should be raised when the situation on the Korean Peninsula improves, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov told reporters on Tuesday.
"The issue on sanctions against North Korea is not discussed at the moment at the UN Security Council," the high-ranking diplomat said on the sidelines of the Valdai International Discussion Club. "But we believe that if the situation on the Korean Peninsula develops in a positive direction, the question on easing the sanctions may be raised."
Answering a TASS reporter’s question on a possible visit of the North Korean leader to Russia, the deputy minister recalled that Kim Jong-un "has an invitation of the Russian president to visit" the country.
In December 2017, the UN Security Council voted for a resolution on another tightening of sanctions against North Korea. It imposed more restrictions on the supplies of crude oil and oil products and required all countries should expel labor migrants within 24 months. The resolution also imposed restrictions on the supplies of industrial equipment, heavy machinery and motor vehicles to North Korea and the import of the country’s main export items. Last year, the Security Council tightened sanctions against Pyongyang three times in retaliation for its ballistic missile and nuclear tests.
US-South Korean drills
Morgulov also said that Moscow welcomed the decision to suspend military drills that was announced by the US and South Korea.
"We welcome this decision as a step in the right direction," the senior Russian diplomat noted.
On Monday, the Pentagon confirmed to TASS that the United States and South Korea had decided to suspend the Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint drills planned to be held on the Korean Peninsula in August.
Trump-Kim meeting
A historic meeting between US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took place in Singapore on June 12. The parties signed a joint document, which particularly says that the US-North Korea summit "was an epochal event of great significance in overcoming decades of tensions and hostilities between the two countries and for the opening up of a new future."
The document adds that "President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un commit to implement the stipulations in this joint statement fully and expeditiously." According to the document, Pyongyang "commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" in return for US security guarantees.
Trump said at a final press conference that the US would suspend joint military drills with South Korea.