MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. Moscow welcomes agreements reached at the high-level talks between North and South Korea held in Panmunjom, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We welcome the agreements that were reached at the Panmunjom talks between representatives of the DPRK and South Korea on January 9, which particularly concern the North Korean delegation’s participation in the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang," the statement reads. "We hope that the implementation of these agreements will help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and ensure regional stability," the ministry pointed out.
"We expect all the interested parties to support the steps that North and South Korea are taking in order to resume dialogue," the statement adds. "We are confident that it is the only way to find mutually acceptable political and diplomatic solutions to the issues that the Peninsula has been facing, which is what our country has been calling for," the document says.
"This is the goal of the road map aimed at comprehensively resolving the situation on the Korean Peninsula, which was drawn up by Russia and China. It stipulates that the United States and North Korea should both abandon dangerous military activities in order to create conditions for talks aimed at establishing a collective peace and security system in Northeast Asia," the Russian Foreign Ministry said, adding that "we call on all the countries concerned to engage in work to implement this document."
"We hope that positive trends in the inter-Korean dialogue will develop further," the ministry noted. "For our part, we are ready to do everything possible to facilitate the process," the statement adds.
The first round of dialogue aimed at improving relations between South and North Korea took place in the Panmunjom settlement located in the demilitarized zone separating the two countries on January 9. According to the South Korean Ministry of Unification, ways to outline practical steps to normalize bilateral relations topped the agenda of the talks, the first since December 2015.
The parties discussed the restoration of the Panmunjom direct telephone line and a hotline between the militaries. They also agreed that North Korea will send a high-ranking delegation, a taekwondo demonstration team and a cheering squad to the Winter Olympic Games scheduled to be held in South Korea’s PyeongChang on February 9-25.