Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he has accepted an invitation from his North Korean counterpart to visit Pyongyang. Lavrov met with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in the Russian capital on Tuesday.
According to the top Russian official, negotiations on the situation on the Korean peninsula should result in the nuclear disarmament of the region.
Russia welcomes “the gradual normalization of the situation” between both Koreas and supports contact between North Korea and the US, he told reporters following his meeting with Ri. The Russian official said that no decisions had been made on the summit between President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The course of events around North Korea follows the Russian-Chinese initiative. This initiative includes a “step-by-step advancement towards the final phase, which would result in the peace and security agreement in North-Eastern Asia, including denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” he said.
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Dubbed a “double-freeze plan,” the proposal made by Moscow and Beijing envisions the US and its regional allies halting drills in exchange for North Korea stopping its development of missiles and missile tests. Washington, however, has rejected the roadmap.