US fears Russia may be close to accepting nuclear-armed North Korea
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Russia and North Korea have forged closer diplomatic and military ties, with both leaders visiting each other's countries.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK - The United States voiced alarm at the United Nations Security Council on Dec 18 that Russia was close to accepting a nuclear-armed North Korea, as Moscow and Pyongyang defended their growing cooperation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in September 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.
“Alarmingly, we assess that Russia may be close to accepting North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, reversing Moscow’s decades-long commitment to denuclearise the Korean peninsula,” said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“We believe that Moscow will become more reluctant not only to criticise Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons, but also further obstruct passage of sanctions or resolutions condemning North Korea’s destabilising behaviour,” she said.
South Korea and Britain both criticised Mr Lavrov’s remarks, saying he had undermined the global non-proliferation regime.
Britain’s deputy UN Ambassador James Kariuki described Mr Lavrov’s comment as a “reckless departure from the agreed principle of complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament”.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia did not reference North Korea’s nuclear programme when he addressed the council.
He defended the growing cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang as Russia’s sovereign right.
“Russian cooperation with the DPRK... is in accordance with international law, not in violation thereof,” he said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“This is not directed against any third countries. It does not pose any threat to states in the region or the international community, and have no doubt we will continue to develop such cooperation.”
Russia has forged closer diplomatic and military ties with North Korea since invading Ukraine in February 2022,
Russia is using North Korean troops to battle Ukrainian forces
North Korea’s UN Ambassador Kim Song described the closer ties with Russia as a “positive contribution to international peace and security”.
Citing what Pyongyang sees as a US-led nuclear-based military bloc in the region, he also said: “Outbreak of the nuclear war in North-east Asia is no longer a possibility, but a matter of time.”
South Korea’s UN Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook warned the Security Council to “expect further uncertainties looming over the horizon” ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump taking office for a second term in January.
“North Korea has a history of provocative actions during US presidential transitions, designed to grab attention, raise the stakes and set the stage for direct negotiations with the new US administration,” Mr Hwang said.
“This pattern can recur within the upcoming months. This time, it could be another ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) or military satellite launch, or even its seventh nuclear test,” he said.
North Korea has been under UN Security Council sanctions since 2006, and the measures have been steadily strengthened over the years with the aim of halting Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. REUTERS
