Russian pundits: Still calm about Korea?

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(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 […]

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Russia Seen as Powerless to Influence Pyongyang

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(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 […]

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Lavrov accuses N. Korea of blatantly violating UN Security Council resolutions

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(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 […]

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The Dangers of the Korean Crisis

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(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 […]

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Russia, US: Not the time to be throwing stones

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(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 […]

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Russians troubled by North Korea’s belligerent rhetoric and plans – poll

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(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. […]

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Korean War Unlikely, But Risks for Russia Serious

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(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 […]

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North Korea views its nuclear potential as security guarantee – diplomat

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(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 […]

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Tensions on the Korean peninsula bring Russia and China closer

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(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 […]

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U.S. Awaits Russian Response to Delaying Missile Shield

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(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 […]

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North Korea seeks recognition of its de facto nuclear status – expert

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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 […]

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U.S. State Dept slammed for looking into ‘routine matters’ of Russian politics

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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 […]

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DPRK nuclear tests may prompt other states to quit non-proliferation regime – expert

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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 […]

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Reflecting on 2012: A year in Moscow as the U.S. Ambassador

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(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 […]

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Russia suggests starting talks on peace, security on Korean Peninsula

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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 […]

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North Korean ‘political survival champs’ wish to swap nuke program for security guarantees – Russian expert

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(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 […]

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