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Return to "summit diplomacy" in Korean settlement is no longer possible – Russian MFA

Deputy head of department Andrey Rudenko said that the United States missed the chance to conclude a profitable deal with the DPRK in February 2019

MOSCOW, 3 January. /TASS/. A return to the "summit diplomacy" model in the Korean settlement that was used in 2018-2019, when Pyongyang made proactive and unrequited gestures of goodwill towards its opponents, is no longer possible, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has said.

"All parties interested in the Korean settlement should realize that it is no longer possible to get back to the 'summit diplomacy' of 2018-2019, when the DPRK made proactive and unrequited gestures of goodwill towards its opponents," Rudenko told TASS in an interview.

Rudenko stressed that in February 2019 in Hanoi the United States missed a chance to conclude a beneficial deal on the dismantling of key nuclear facilities at the DPRK’s Nyongbyon facility in exchange for the partial lifting of international sanctions against the civilian sector of its economy.

"As a result, due to Washington's overly inflated ambitions, Pyongyang finally became disillusioned with the negotiation logic, which at a certain stage had allowed for linking North Korea’s unilateral disarmament with the removal of obstacles to its normal economic development," he added.

Therefore, Rudenko continued, now, in order to return to a constructive agenda, the United States and its allies should, firstly, "drop the idea of further sanctions and pressure on North Korea, which has demonstrated its ineffectiveness as a means of handling the problems of the Korean Peninsula."

"Secondly, they should send a signal to the DPRK about their readiness for a dialogue on a constructive agenda: on the easing of tensions, confidence-building measures and the principles of peaceful coexistence, and on building a multilateral system of peace and arms control in Northeast Asia," Rudenko added.

Within the framework of such an agenda, he pointed out, the legitimate concerns of all countries in the region would be settled by providing legal and physical security guarantees.

"Relevant ideas, by the way, are reflected in joint Russian-Chinese diplomatic initiatives, including the action plan for a comprehensive settlement of the problems of the Korean Peninsula," Rudenko said.