Russia urges North Korea to observe its duties of UN member - Zakharova

SOCHI, May 19. /TASS/. Russia expects Pyongyang to display responsibility and observe its duties of a UN member-state, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday. "Alarming forecasts regarding possible violations of UN Security Council resolutions during the 7th congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea have proved groundless," Zakharova said. "We do hope that the North Korean side will adhere to a responsible policy further on and honor its duties of a UN member-state." "We’ve taken note of a number of initiatives for easing tensions in inter-Korean relations and improving the situation in the peninsula," Zakharova said. "They were put forward by the leadership of North Korea at the party forum." "We hope that the counterparts to whom Pyongyang’s call is addressed will not make hasty decisions and will not reject the proposals off the cuff or jump at half-baked conclusions, but will thoroughly analyze them to make a proper, responsible decision," Zakharova said. "We are certain that progress towards peace and stability in Southeast Asia should be mutual and reciprocal and be accompanied by pro-active participation of all parties present in the region," the diplomat said. She said such an approach might "create prerequisites for normalizing North Korea’s bilateral relations with South Korea, the United States and Japan and get down to practical work to form multilateral mechanisms to maintain security and cooperation in the given region." Read more