MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Seoul keeps rebuking Moscow to justify an unprecedented increase in its nuclear weapons-related preparations based on orders from Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"On September 30, the South Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement, saying that the position that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov outlinted on September 26 following the adoption of a resolution on North Korea at the 68th session of the IAEA General Conference was 'extremely irresponsible.' The minister explained Russia’s stance on the matter in a very clear, convincing and reasonable manner," the statement reads. "However, Seoul failed to hear the message and took the liberty of accusing Russia - one of the founders of the United Nations and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - of being 'irresponsible.' Moreover, South Korea’s demands that Moscow 'must' do something go beyond diplomatic communication," the ministry added.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, it’s quite clear that rebukes against Moscow are "an attempt to justify an unprecedented increase in Seoul’s nuclear weapons-related preparations that are taking place on the orders and with the participation of the US and its allies."
Denuclearization issue
Russia believes that it’s impossible to ensure the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a situation where a military alliance between the US and South Korea has reached a nuclear level, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.
"Washington and Seoul have, for quite a while, been consistently creating patterns for the joint use of the US strategic potential against North Korea. Together with Tokyo, they are working to strengthen their trilateral alliance and make it operate like NATO," the statement notes. "It’s these instigating steps that are raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, creating a real security threat in Northeastern Asia. The US, South Korea and Japan had begun to boost trilateral ties and play nuclear games long before Russia and North Korea signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty that Seoul likes to refer to. That said, allegations that Russia-North Korea cooperation poses a threat to someone don’t hold water," the ministry added.
"Instead of admitting whose fault it is that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is deteriorating, take practical joint steps to search for a way out of the current impasse and make earnest efforts to resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means based on mutual respect for sovereignty and indivisible security, the incumbent South Korean administration refuses to soberly assess the danger of its irresponsible policy of blindly following the lead of other countries, which runs counter to the country’s national interests," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.