The security official reiterated that North Korea’s artillery and rocket launch sites are positioned just 50 kilometers from Seoul, a vibrant metropolis accommodating some 10 million people.
In the meantime, Washington bears responsibility for contributing to “a vicious circle” of tension on the peninsula. “Today, the US makes aggressive [and] provocative statements against the [North Korean] leadership and the entire North Korean people, and conducts large-scale aerial and naval drills together with South Korea,” Patrushev said.
For its part, Pyongyang responds with new ballistic missile launches and equally harsh statements. “This vicious circle is to be broken by political and diplomatic means only,” Patrushev added. Moscow and Beijing, he stressed, are now pushing for a comprehensive roadmap that includes North Korea halting its missile and nuclear tests, and the US ceasing its military drills on the peninsula.
Moscow believes that Washington, while ostensibly advocating a peace plan, is utilizing the North Korean nuclear issue to contain Russia and China and militarize the Asia-Pacific, the Security Council head stated.
“Washington is very consistent in its plans to deploy elements of its global missile defense system in the region,” Patrushev said. “We can’t rule out that raising tensions around North Korea benefits the United States’ strategic goals.”
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