Putin emphasizes importance of Korean Peninsula’s denuclearization at talks with IAEA chief

SOCHI, May 14. /TASS/. Moscow is convinced of the need to fully denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov told reporters on Monday, following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano. "The meeting between the president and IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano for obvious reasons was focused on regional issues - North Korea and Iran," he said. "In regard to North Korea, he [Putin] stressed that Russia believed it necessary to seek the full denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the Russian envoy added. At the same time, in Ulyanov’s words, the Russian president called on the IAEA chief to adopt as impartial and professional approach to the issue as possible. According to the Russian diplomat, analytics believe that Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal may negatively affect the search for ways to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. However, he said that Putin and Amano had not discussed that matter. Read more