MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. Peace can only be achieved on the Korean Peninsula after the US withdraws its military contingent from South Korea, North Korean Ambassador to Russia Sin Hong-chol said in an interview with TASS on Wednesday.
"The US should primarily pull out its aggressive troops and military hardware deployed in South Korea to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula," he said. "As long as US forces are based in South Korea, the main reason behind periodical exacerbation of the situation on the Korean Peninsula will never be eliminated."
"The current situation proves that only real force and not words can ensure peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," the diplomat pointed out. According to him, it is vital for North Korea to strengthen the forces that can deter foreign threats. "We have already clearly said that we will treat the US on the principle of ‘force for force’ and ‘good for good’," the ambassador emphasized.
Unwillingness to use diplomacy
The US administration is demonstrating that it does not seek to address Korean Peninsula issues through diplomacy by initiating joint military exercises with South Korea, Hong-chol said.
"The actions of the United States who persistently forced through the aggressive military exercises at such an extreme time when the international attention is concentrating on Korean Peninsula developments show that they are the instigators who destroy peace and security of the region, while ‘commitment to diplomacy’ and ‘dialogue without preconditions’ that the current US administration is ranting about are nothing but hypocrisy," the diplomat stressed.
According to him, the nature of the joint drills by Washington and Seoul irrespective of their scale and form is "a war rehearsal" and training for "a preventive strike" against North Korea. "The international community is getting more demanding about ending these aggressive joint military exercises," Sin Hong-chol added.
"Due to the military madness of the United States and South Korea, military tensions and conflict danger flare up on the Korean Peninsula and around it every March and August," he noted. The ambassador also expects Washington to come up with new hostile actions against Asia Pacific states, including Russia. "Judging by the current intentions of the US, it seems to me that they will be more openly engaged in hostile actions against Asia Pacific states, including Russia," he concluded.
On Monday, the Yonhap News Agency reported that Seoul and Washington after lengthy discussions decided to hold their annual joint drills on August 16-26 despite Pyongyang’s calls to cancel them.
North Korea for two days has not established communications with Seoul through channels reinstated two weeks ago. On July 27, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to resume the operation of a direct communication line between the two capitals and facilitate reinstatement of trust and better relations. Following the decision, North and South Koreas were holding regular phone talks twice a day.