Addressing North Korean nuclear problem is possible only through political and diplomatic means - lawmaker

HANOI, January 19. /TASS/. The calculation that North Korea’s missile nuclear programs can be stopped only by pressure is wrong and thus futile, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee for Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev said at Friday’s plenary meeting on political and security issues held in Hanoi at the 26th session of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF). During the time that passed after the previous APPF session the situation in the sphere of security in the Pacific Rim has remained complicated and volatile, the senator said, chiefly due to the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. "This problem has grown worse recently and is teetering on the brink of a large-scale conflict," Kosachev noted. He specified that Russia, like other global communities members, "does not accept North Korea’s missile and nuclear schemes and rude violation of the UN Security Council resolutions." In addition to that, the MP pointed to the inadmissibility of heightening tensions and military confrontation by the US and its allies. "The implementation of the US plans to deploy elements of the global ballistic missile defense in this region is deeply concerning. These measures can have an extremely negative impact on the security in the Pacific Rim," the senator affirmed. Kosachev also noted that the settlement on the Korean Peninsula is possible only through political and diplomatic means. "The Russian-Chinese roadmap on the settlement on the Korean Peninsula is a good framework for it. This document aims at a gradual easing of tensions and establishment of a mechanism for a stable peace and security," he stressed. Read more