Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov held a telephone conversation with Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Luo Zhaohui on Thursday to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Russian Foreign Ministry said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th December, 2019) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov held a telephone conversation with Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Luo Zhaohui on Thursday to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Russian Foreign Ministry said."Igor Morgulov and Luo Zhaohui exchanged opinions on the developments on the Korean Peninsula and urged the concerned parties to display restraint, as well as not to slacken efforts to resolve the region's problems through political and diplomatic methods and in accordance with the relevant Russian-Chinese road map," the statement said.
The sides also reaffirmed their commitment to maintain close coordination between Moscow and Beijing on this matter.
In 2017, China and Russia put forward the so-called double freeze plan, under which North Korea would be obliged to cease its nuclear activities in exchange for the suspension of US-South Korean joint military exercises near the peninsula. Moscow also suggested that the parties concerned should develop a road map for the restoration of trust and the resumption of the six-party talks on North Korea involving Beijing, Moscow, Pyongyang, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.
Notably, the agreements that were achieved during the US-North Korean summit in Singapore last June were in line with the Russian-Chinese "double freeze" plan, since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to work on the complete denuclearization of the peninsula in exchange for security guarantees from US President Donald Trump.
The US-North Korea denuclearization talks hit a dead-end when the North Korean delegation diplomats left the meeting's venue in Sweden prematurely, accusing the United States of coming empty-handed and not paying attention to North Korea's requirements. Meanwhile, the US offered an opposing view, stating that the talks went well and resulted in a range of creative ideas.
In the wake of stalled settlement, Pyongyang is threatening to change its course regarding the denuclearization process unless the US administration offers more acceptable terms to the North Korean authorities.
