UN Can Ease Sanctions If Pyongyang's Denuclearization Irreversible - South Korean Diplomat

Pyongyang's achievement of an irreversible level of denuclearization and the consensus of the international community are the preconditions for mitigating UN sanctions against North Korea, South Korean ambassador in Moscow, Woo Yoon-keun, said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2019) Pyongyang's achievement of an irreversible level of denuclearization and the consensus of the international community are the preconditions for mitigating UN sanctions against North Korea, South Korean ambassador in Moscow, Woo Yoon-keun, said on Tuesday.

"In response to North Korea's decisive steps, we can consider a possible response. To ease sanctions of the UN Security Council, at least, it is necessary to get a conclusion that North Korea's denuclearization has reached an irreversible stage. It is also necessary to achieve consensus and trust of the world community," the ambassador told Russian news agencies.

The involvement of third countries in the discussion of the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization depends on the progress of North Korea in nuclear disarmament, Woo said.

"As for the revival of the six-party talks format, this task also depends on progress of North Korea's denuclearization. I believe that it is possible to discuss the conduct of talks of various formats in the future, including the format involving the South and the North, the United States, China, Russia," he said.

The long-anticipated second summit of US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un concluded in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi in late February with no agreement signed. Trump walked away from the talks on the summit's second day after Kim demanded that all sanctions be lifted in exchange for denuclearization, but not in the areas Washington wanted.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula have been improving since early 2018, much due to intensification of Pyongyang-Seoul-Washington talks. Since the beginning of last year, three inter-Korean summits and two meetings of North Korean and US leaders have already been held.

Moscow has been advocating easing sanctions against Pyongyang. The package of restrictions introduced in late 2017 became the toughest among all international sanctions against Pyongyang. It implies not only tough restrictions on trade with North Korea, but also prevents third countries from using North Korean labor.