Russia suggests starting talks on peace, security on Korean Peninsula

MOSCOW. Feb 6 (Interfax) – Negotiations on peace and security could help build confidence between North Korea and the other participants in the six-party talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Timonin said.

“As follows from the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s and the State Defense Committee’s recent statements, Pyongyang also does not object to holding talks on peace and security in this region,” Timonin said in an interview with Interfax.

“In our opinion, a joint discussion of these key problems would help build confidence between the participants in the six-party talks and find a mutually-acceptable solution to the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

Russia is heading the Northeast Asia peace and security mechanism and, acting in this capacity, has drawn up and circulated practical proposals for building a reliable peace and security mechanism in the region, Timonin said.

Talking about the settlement of the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula in general, Timonin noted that Russia’s position on this issue remains unchanged. “Our country still supports the idea to continue looking for political-diplomatic ways to stabilize the situation in Northeast Asia and will be doing all it can to promote favorable conditions for resuming the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear problem,” he said.

“It is extremely important in this connection for all parties concerned not to resort to steps capable of exacerbating the situation on the Korean Peninsula and leading to a new spiral of the arms race,” he said.