Russia’s Lavrov says North Korea’s nuclear status is a ‘closed issue’
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow will stand together with North Korea in “confronting a joint adversary”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MOSCOW – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sept 26 that Moscow viewed the notion of “denuclearising” North Korea as a “closed issue” as it understood Pyongyang’s logic of relying on nuclear weapons as the foundation of its defence.
Mr Lavrov, answering a question on his ministry’s website, said Russia would stand alongside North Korea in resisting what he said the US, together with South Korea and Japan in the Asia-Pacific region, portrays as “expanded nuclear deterrence”.
“This is clearly a real and extremely serious threat to regional security,” Mr Lavrov wrote. “In these conditions, the very term of ‘denuclearisation’ as applied to North Korea has lost all meaning. For us, this is a closed issue.”
Russia has forged closer diplomatic and military ties with North Korea since invading Ukraine in February 2022
Ukrainian experts have produced evidence that missiles produced in North Korea, subject to international sanctions for many years, have been deployed against Ukrainian targets. Moscow and Pyongyang both deny any illicit arms trade or shipments.
North Korea has said it will never abandon its reliance on nuclear weapons to ensure its security against the South and the United States, which stations some 24,000 troops on South Korean territory. The two sides regularly stage joint drills.
North Korea tested new tactical ballistic missiles in September as Mr Kim called for stronger conventional weapons and nuclear capabilities.
In his comments, Mr Lavrov said Russia strongly disagreed with the “senseless” imposition of sanctions by Western countries. Before its invasion of Ukraine, Russia had for many years signed on to UN-backed sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear tests.
Mr Lavrov said Russia would stand together with North Korea in “confronting a joint adversary” and “consistently strengthen friendship and cooperation” with Pyongyang. REUTERS
