MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Pyongyang is not seeking to go to war, while the potential start of any conflict will totally depend on the United States, Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora said in an interview with TASS.
"The DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - TASS) is not seeking a war," he emphasized. "Whether 2024 will be a peaceful year in Korea or whether there will be a military conflict depends entirely on the Americans," he added.
In this context, Matsegora recounted that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told the country’s Supreme People’s Assembly at a recent meeting that "there is no reason for us to opt for war, and therefore, there is no intention of unilaterally going to war.".
Test nukes amid US provocations
Matsegora also said, North Korea may decide to conduct another nuclear test if the United States continues taking provocative steps in the region.
"Western countries and UN Secretariat officials cannot know a priori if arrangements are underway here for a seventh nuclear test," the Russian diplomat said, commenting on Western allegations that Pyongyang is working to prepare yet another nuclear test, as he dismissed any such rhetoric as mere "speculations."
"I think whether or not there will be another nuclear experiment in North Korea depends on how the military-political situation on the peninsula will unfold. If expanded US-South Korean nuclear deterrence <…> or other provocative steps toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continue or if US Air Force strategic bombers continue to fly over the peninsula, the North Korean leadership may as well decide to conduct a new nuclear test for the sake of further strengthening of its defense capabilities," Matsegora explained.
According to the envoy, the responsibility for such unwelcome developments "will lie completely with Washington" and with Seoul, too, even though he admitted that little depends on the latter here.