Russian diplomat says Korea’s denuclearization over short term possible

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula over a short term is possible but it will require special conditions, the Russian Ambassador to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Alexander Matsegora told TASS on Tuesday. "I’d like say the DPRK is a very special country and if its leader [Kim Jong-un] takes a decision of this kind, this means the whole nation has mobilized to fulfill it," he said. "In theory, denuclearization over a short term is an achievable goal." "The importance for special conditions conducive to it is a separate story," Matsegora said. "The main of them is that the Americans should make available a second part of the denuclearization roadmap." According to the Ambassador, the roadmap should consist of two parts. "The first of them will spell out the road to denuclearization and second part should grant the Koreans something they are looking forward to, that is, the guarantees of renunciation of the hostile attitude by Washington." "It’s the second part of the roadmap that we haven’t seen so far and I have strong doubts that our Korean friends have had a chance to familiarize themselves with it," Matsegora said. "It’s very unlikely they will make any more practical steps in addition to what they have done already unless they get the understanding of the whole process." "And they have done quite a lot, haven’t they?" he said. "They have destroyed the nuclear test site and have stopped nuclear testing and the launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Americans have announced the suspension of wargames with South Korea. So they are even-steven at the moment." On June 12, 2018, US President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un signed a joint document at a summit in Singapore, with Pyongyang pledging to denuclearize North Korea in exchange for security guarantees on the part of Washington. The two leaders did not discuss any deadlines, as they agreed that the latter should be established in the course of further talks. Trump delegated the powers to conduct the talks to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. Read more