North Korea sends message wanting direct negotiations with the US

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that Pyongyang wants to negotiate directly with the United States to get Washington's guarantees on its security.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a field inspection on December 6 - Photo: REUTERS

According to Mr. Lavrov, North Korea conveyed the above message and he helped it reach the person who needed it - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson - in a meeting on December 7.

The two Russian and US diplomatic leaders held talks on the sidelines of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Austria.

"We understand that what North Korea wants most is to negotiate with the United States on guarantees for its security. We are ready to support that, we are ready to participate in promoting such negotiations. Our American partners, including US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have listened to that," Reuters news agency quoted the Russian foreign minister.

Lavrov's statement came after North Korea declared that war on the Korean peninsula had become "inevitable" due to hostile moves by the US and South Korea (manifested through continuous military exercises).

The two countries are participating in a five-day joint exercise called "Vigilant Ace", mobilizing tens of thousands of troops and many modern weapons, including B-1B strategic bombers.

Responding to the Russian Foreign Minister's statement, Ms. Heather Nauert - spokeswoman for the US State Department, emphasized on the same day that direct negotiations with Pyongyang "will not be considered until North Korea denuclearizes".

"That is something that Russia, China and many other countries around the world have agreed to," Ms. Nauert affirmed. According to the US spokesperson, Pyongyang is showing "no signs of being ready to sit down and have a serious dialogue while continuing to launch ballistic missiles."

Meanwhile, another spokesman for the US State Department, Mr. Justin Higgins, said that freezing North Korea's nuclear program is not enough, but must commit to ending and never returning to that program.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have increased after Pyongyang launched the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the US in the early morning of November 29.

In fact, the current controversy has existed for many years and has fallen into a vicious circle with no way out.

North Korea wants to negotiate directly with the US - Photo 3. F-15 fighter jets, F-15s and B1-B strategic bombers of the US-South Korea coalition in the sky over the Korean peninsula on December 6 - Photo: REUTERS

While the US and South Korea cited North Korea's "provocative moves" and "strengthening allied combat capabilities" for the large-scale exercises, North Korea viewed them as hostile moves and took countermeasures, including firing missiles.

The chorus of US-South Korea military exercises and North Korea missile/nuclear tests has happened countless times.

Russia and China, two countries participating in the six-party talks on the North Korean issue, have also repeatedly proposed that Washington stop military exercises with Seoul in exchange for Pyongyang stopping missile launches, but this has been rejected.

On December 5, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov affirmed that his country has many communication channels with North Korea and is ready to influence Pyongyang to resolve the issue.

On December 7, a senior US official revealed that Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang met with Mr. Matt Pottinger - head of Asian affairs at the US National Security Council - to discuss North Korea and trade issues.

According to tuoitre.vn