South Korean Ambassador: Russia to play constructive role in North Korean settlement

Russia can play a constructive role in peaceful settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue, South Korean Ambassador to Russia Chung Tae-Ik told Russian media on Friday.

The South Korean authorities are taking all efforts to solve "the North Korean issue" at the multilateral level, the ambassador said. In late April Beijing hosted trilateral talks between the USA, North Korea and China, he noted. "South Korea regards this meeting as the beginning of the dialogue on the search for a solution of the North Korean issue. We hope this process will be developing and expanding. Then Russia will be able to take part in it and play a constructive role in peaceful settlement," the ambassador said.

South Korea is guided by two principles regarding North Korea: the inadmissibility of nuclear weapons production in North Korea and the necessity of peaceful settlement of the problem, the ambassador noted. "Russia also adheres to making the Korean Peninsula a denuclearized zone, preservation of nuclear non-proliferation regime and necessity of peaceful settlement," the ambassador noted. "Russia is taking great efforts concerning this issue and holds close consultations with North Korea, the USA, Japan and South Korea," he added.

"The position of the leading countries striving for denuclearized regime on the Korean Peninsula makes us feel optimistic about the issue," the ambassador said.