Russia Welcomes US Flexibility With N. Korea, Hopes For Resumption Of Dialogue - Nebenzia

Russia Welcomes US Flexibility With N. Korea, Hopes for Resumption of Dialogue - Nebenzia

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2019) Russia welcomes the readiness of the United States to demonstrate flexibility in dealing with North Korea and hopes the denuclearization talks between the two countries will resume, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told reporters.

"We welcome the flexibility," Nebenzia said on Wednesday. "We had high hopes for the dialogue that had started between the US and DPRK; we would like that to be resumed."

Earlier on Wednesday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft said during a UN Security Council meeting on non-proliferation that Washington is prepared to be flexible in denuclearization talks with North Korea.

Nebenzia noted that North Korea had delivered on the promises to abandon its nuclear programs until recently and the international community should not have expected it to do so in the absence of any steps in return.

"Negotiation is a two-way street and that should be understood," Nebenzia said, adding that North Korea should refrain from any further provocative actions.

In late November, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan that flew at about 380 kilometers (236 miles) at an altitude of 97 kilometers.

On Saturday, the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations said that denuclearization was off the table in talks with the United States, prompting US President Donald Trump to urge country to denuclearize as it had promised.

In 2018, relations between Pyongyang and Washington improved as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held direct talks with Trump and the president of South Korea. However, the negotiation process came to a standstill this year due to a lack of specific denuclearization measures and resumed missile tests.