Russia plays an increasingly important role in the North Korea issue

Russia is taking an increasingly important role in the North Korean nuclear issue through a series of contacts with South Korea and Japan.

Russia's top envoy on North Korea's nuclear program, Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, arrived in Seoul on November 26 to discuss the current crisis on the Korean peninsula with South Korean officials.

A North Korean missile launch. Photo: Reuters

During the visit, Mr. Morgulov will meet with South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon to share assessments of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, as well as solutions to the crisis.

The meeting took place in the context of the regional situation having temporarily calmed down after a period of escalating tensions that peaked last September, mainly due to the war of words between the two leaders of the US and North Korea.

Many analysts believe that now is the best time to reopen negotiations with North Korea and the visit to South Korea by Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister has partly shown the country's determination to play a bigger role in resolving the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula.

As one of six countries participating in negotiations on the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Russia's role has long been considered quite obscure compared to China or the US.

This is understandable because Russia has always pursued a stance that is considered quite "cautious" on this issue when seeking a balance in political relations with South Korea and North Korea.

Therefore, while Russia has long acknowledged South Korea's concerns about North Korea's development of nuclear and ballistic weapons and disapproved of North Korea's provocative statements and actions, it has also pointed out the need to protect North Korea's "legitimate" security interests.

Russia has supported UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but along with North Korea it has also worked to soften the impact of those sanctions and opposed stronger measures backed by the United States and Japan.

According to analysts, although this approach makes Russia's role less important than that of the other countries participating in the six-party talks (including North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the US), it is necessary to ensure that tensions on the Korean peninsula do not escalate into a war.

In the context of the current fluctuations in the world and the Asian region, Russia's increasingly important role in the North Korean nuclear crisis is obvious.

Before the visit to South Korea by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, on November 4, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, another country participating in the six-party talks, to discuss the North Korean issue.

At the meeting, both sides also agreed to support the resolution of the crisis on the Korean Peninsula based on the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and hoped that this direction would lay the foundation for the resumption of negotiations. However, these meetings showed a deep difference, even antagonism, between Russia and the United States in resolving this crisis.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "Russia does not accept North Korea's nuclear bomb and missile tests, considering this a gross violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

On the other hand, together with China and many other countries, we also emphasize the need to fully implement and respect the spirit of the provisions set out in the resolutions aimed at resuming negotiations.”

Or when participating in the BRICS Summit in China recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin strongly opposed the US plan to increase sanctions against North Korea after its 6th nuclear test.

According to the Russian leader, the US sanctions against North Korea are “ineffective and ineffective”. The world should ensure the security of North Korea. Some US officials assert that Russia is increasing its involvement in the North Korea crisis through both secret and public diplomatic channels.

The question now is whether Russia and the US can coordinate with each other on the North Korean issue as they did in Syria. Given the current US political context, which is currently experiencing a lot of turmoil surrounding the investigation into suspicions of collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump's team in the 2016 US presidential election, as well as recent diplomatic retaliations, this is unlikely.

On the other hand, if we take into account the common interests that the two countries can share, the possibility of coordination is entirely possible. Because both Russia and the US do not want war on the Korean peninsula and do not want to see North Korea become a security threat to the region./.

According to VOV