(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Lankov, special to RBTH – April 15, 2013) In early April, North Korea’s top leadership was shaken up top military officers retired, civilian bureaucrats have taken over and a reform-minded premier has been reinstated. Korean historian Andrei Lankov argues that, while it is too soon to confidentially say North Korea is headed for a full-fledged, rational, market economy, the proposition is
(Russia Beyond the Headlines - www.rbth.ru – Ekaterina Zabrovskaya, Yelena Kim, RBTH – April 10, 2013) Regardles of the fact that Russian pundits are concerned by growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, most argue that a full-scale war will not break out. Although the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised diplomatic missions to leave the country by April 10 and Russian experts are concerned by mounting tensions on
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – April 10, 2013) The White House has urged Moscow to do more to restrain saber-rattling North Korea, but despite historically strong ties with its nuclear-armed neighbor, Russia does not have special influence that could help defuse growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, experts said Tuesday. “Russia doesn’t have any exclusive ways to influence North Korea,” Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global
(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 10, 2013) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused North Korea of blatantly violating a UN Security Council resolution and warned that Moscow will consistently seek to calm the situation down. “Certainly, it is unacceptable when a state – in this particular case the DPRK, a UN member – openly and blatantly violates a UN Security Council resolution. We have repeatedly talked about this with other
(RIA Novosti – April 9, 2013 – Fyodor Lukyanov) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments. The world is once again looking toward the Korean Peninsula with apprehension, though at this point it should be used to Pyongyang’s routine threats to wipe its enemies off the map. This time North Korea appears resolved to show
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yevgeny Shestakov, special to RBTH – April 9, 2013) Yevgeny Shestakov is international politics editor at Rossiyskaya Gazeta. International politics analyst Yevgeny Shestakov considers Russia and the U.S. should not resolve their differences via international conflicts like the Syria crisis. Events in civil war-torn Syria have demonstrated the lamentable inability of Russia and the West to agree on a mechanism to overcome the
(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 9, 2013) Russian citizens recently interviewed by the Levada Center said they now have a better opinion of South Korea than North Korea, expressing concern over Pyongyang’s recent belligerent rhetoric and plans. Forty-nine percent of respondents to the March survey said they had a positive attitude toward North Korea, and 26% spoke of the country negatively. In comparison, South Korea won support from 57% of Russians,
(RIA Novosti – Alexey Eremenko - MOSCOW, April 9, 2013) Radioactive fallout from South Korean nuclear plants blown up by enemy saboteurs could be, for Russia, the worst consequence of a possible Korean war should one happen, Russian analysts said. “You could have five or six Chernobyls take place over a relatively small territory,” said Alexander Zhebin, who heads the Center for Korean Studies at the Russian Academy of
(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 8, 2013) North Korea does not want to become another target for the U.S. after Syria and therefore it needs reliable security guarantees, a North Korean diplomatic source said in reply to a question from Interfax concerning reasons for Pyongyang’s increasingly militant rhetoric in relation to the U.S. and South Korea of late. “Washington has often said lately that it has always badly understood North Korea’s
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Ilyashenko, special to RBTH – April 1, 2013) Andrei Ilyashenko is a columnist on the Middle East issues for several Russian media and military magazines. For Moscow and Beijing the consequences of North Korea’s posturing in recent months could turn into a major security issue. North Korean propagandists recently posted a YouTube video under the title, “A firestorm will come crashing down
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Gopal Ratnam & Stepan Kravchenko – March 18, 2013) The Obama administration’s decision to slow work on missile defenses in Eastern Europe has raised hopes of arms control advocates that Russia might respond by agreeing to renewed talks on reducing both nations’ nuclear arsenals. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said March 15 that the Pentagon will add 14 land-based missile interceptors in Alaska in response to
MOSCOW. Feb 18 (Interfax) – If South Korean reports on North Korean preparations for the next nuclear test are correct, this would indicate that North Korea want to strike a deal with the United States as an equal and receive a nuclear status similar to that of India, head of the Korean Studies Center at the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute for Far East Studies Alexander Zhebin told Interfax on
MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax) – A Russian deputy foreign minister has slammed the U.S. State Department for what he argued is too much attention to “routine matters” in Russia’s foreign policy. “It’s surprising that routine matters should be attracting such close attention, including public attention,” Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax on Thursday in comments on a statement by a State Department official that Secretary of State John Kerry had been unable
MOSCOW. Feb 12 (Interfax) – North Korean nuclear tests endanger regional and global security, Carnegie Moscow Center Nuclear Non-Proliferation Program Coordinator Pyotr Topychkanov said. “If Japan and South Korea obtain convincing evidence to support the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea, violations of the non-proliferation regime may start in the region. For instance, Japan may be prompted to acquire nuclear arms,” he said. North Korean nuclear tests “play against
(Ambassador Michael McFaul – Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – February 8, 2013 – Michael Mcfaul is the U.S. Ambassador in Russia) A year ago, I arrived in Moscow to represent my country as the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation. This is a good moment to reflect on the state of U.S.-Russian relations and my role in developing our bilateral agenda. U.S. and Russia find common ground Four
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
(Interfax – January 24, 2013) The North Korean National Defense Commission said on Thursday that North Korea could carry on satellite launches and nuclear tests. This means to retaliate against the United States and indicates that Pyongyang intends to exchange nuclear program concessions for security guarantees from Washington, Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee First Deputy Chairman, political expert Vyacheslav Nikonov told Interfax on Thursday. “North Korea is true to
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