Russia urges security guarantees for North Korea in exchange for denuclearization

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AP

Speaking at the 4th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russia's Far East, President Putin said that North Korea is taking many steps towards denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and clearly Pyongyang is expecting appropriate reactions to these positive moves.

Meanwhile, however, the US has continued to demand that North Korea dismantle its entire nuclear weapons program. The Russian leader warned that this would be counterproductive if one side did too much while the other did nothing.

He also stressed that it was important for North Korea to receive international guarantees for its security, which would be "in line" with US proposals following the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last June.

President Putin's statement comes amid a deadlock in nuclear talks with the United States, which has said sanctions should remain in place until Pyongyang takes significant steps toward abandoning its nuclear weapons program.

Following the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore in June, North Korea has taken steps to implement its commitments at this historic meeting by declaring an end to nuclear and ballistic missile tests, as well as dismantling an internationally known nuclear test site to move towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

However, so far, the denuclearization process has not made any progress and Pyongyang has criticized the US for always making unilateral demands. Currently, Pyongyang is trying to call for the easing of sanctions imposed on North Korea, but Washington remains firm in its stance that sanctions will only be lifted when the denuclearization process is "complete, irreversible and verifiable".