ID :
472581
Wed, 12/06/2017 - 09:15
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North Korea needs no guarantees from Russia or China, it needs direct dialogue with US - Russian senior diplomat

BERLIN, December 5. /TASS/. Pyongyang needs no security guarantees from Moscow or Beijing but needs direct dialogue with Washington, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said on Tuesday. "We think that North Korea needs no guarantees either Russia or China," he said. "What Pyongyang needs is direct talks with Washington." The Russian diplomat said he did not think that pressure only could "produce an effect we all want." "Russia has supported the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions (on North Korea) more than once but we think that sanctions are not working any longer," he stressed. In the morning on November 29, North Korea conducted a missile launch, the first one since September 15. According to North Korea’s Central News Agency (KCNA), a Hwasong-15 missile covered a distance of 950 kilometers in 53 minutes, reaching an altitude of 4,475 kilometers. The Japanese Defense Ministry said the missile had fallen into the sea in Japan's exclusive economic zone, 250 kilometers west off the coast of Japan’s Aomori Prefecture. Experts say it was an utterly new missile capable of covering a distance of up to 13,000 kilometers. Thus, the entire United States’ territory may be in its impact zone. After that, US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley called on all countries to sever relations with North Korea and stop scientific and economic cooperation with that country. Apart from that, she called to completely ban employment of North Korean workers and strip Pyongyang of the right to vote at the United Nations. Tokyo, too, called on the world community to intensify pressure on Pyongyang. Strains on the Korean Peninsula stem from North Korea’s activities on its nuclear missile program and the United States’ and its allies’ military drills in the region. Following a series of North Korea’s test launches of ballistic missile, the United Nations Security Council toughened international sanctions against that country. Moscow has been stressing its commitment to all UN Security Council resolutions on that matter and insisting North Korea observe these resolutions. The Russian leaders have repeatedly warned that any military scenario over the North Korean problem is fraught with catastrophic consequences and has been insisting on diplomatic solution to the problem via talks. In July 2017, Moscow and Beijing came out with an initiative of double freeze of major irritants, namely North Korea’s nuclear activities and the United States and South Korea’s joint military drills. Read more

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