Russia says welcomes inter-Korean agreements to ease tensions

MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. Russia welcomes agreements reached after days of high-level talks between officials from North and South Korea aimed at preventing further confrontation on the Korean peninsula, the Foreign Ministry said in statement on Tuesday. Russian diplomats expressed confidence that strict observance by both sides of the accords "will help ease military confrontation and strengthen stability in the region". "Recurrence of tensions between North and South Korea, continuing amid increased military activity in third countries, remains a matter of serious concern," the ministry’s statement said, adding that this proved once again "the urgency of practical measures to facilitate military detente on the Korean peninsula and around it, dismantle confrontation infrastructure and form effective multilateral mechanisms to ensure peace and security in Northeast Asia". Senior aides to the leaders of North and South Korea have been in marathon talks at the border village of Panmunjom since Saturday, seeking to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula The situation there deteriorated seriously on Thursday after North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire in the western part of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Seoul claimed that North Korea was the first to open fire and the artillery shelling was aimed at South Korea’s propaganda loudspeakers installed nearby. Pyongyang rejected the allegations. On the same day, North Korea forwarded an ultimatum to South Korea to stop broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers, to dismantle the equipment within next 48 hours and threatened military action otherwise. Seoul declared it would not meet Pyongyang’s demands. The meeting at the Demilitarized Zone village began soon after the deadline for North Korea's ultimatum expired. Read more