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Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

Russian diplomat warns against use of force on Korean Peninsula

On August 10, North Korea revealed a plan to launch a missile towards the US Pacific territory of Guam

© AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/. Any use of force in the Korean Peninsula will cause a colossal tragedy, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"A number of capitals openly threaten to use force and make extremely dangerous statements about a military conflict," she said. "Any attempt at tackling the problem of the Korean Peninsula from the position of strength would bring about a colossal tragedy, tremendous civilian casualties among the population of all conflicting sides and a humanitarian, economic, and ecological disaster."

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"We are calling upon all parties for restraint and for preventing the situation from sliding to the point of no return," Zakharova said. "We keep working with all countries involved in the six-party process."

"In cooperation with the Chinese partners we insist a peace settlement of the whole package of the Korean Peninsula’s problems has no alternative. We are calling upon all responsible members of the international community to support the ideas contained in the Russian-Chinese roadmap for a Korean settlement."

Moscow and Beijing presented a joint initiative for easing tensions in the Korean Peninsula envisaging a freeze of North Korea’s nuclear and missile program in exchange for suspension of joint exercises by the United States and North Korea.

Last week Washington and Pyongyang exchanged several strong verbal attacks. US President Donald Trump promised to respond to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s actions with "fire and fury the world has never seen." Later the Korean Central News Agency said the country’s armed forces were working on a plan for launching missiles towards Guam in order to demonstrate the capability of dealing a pre-emptive blow on US military facilities, including the air base Andersen, where strategic bombers B-52 are deployed.

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