(Reuters) — Speaking to media after talks on the crisis in Syria in the early hours of Saturday (September 10) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also spoke of their worries over North Korea and its latest nuclear missile test, which took place on Friday (September 9).
John Kerry said he expected President Barack Obama to address the issue and said there would be discussions at the United Nations. He added that he’d spoken to the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea on Friday.
”Our hope is that ultimately we can get back to the talks, we’re prepared to go back right away. All Kim Jong Un has to do is say is ‘I’m prepared to talk about de-nuclearisation,’ but unfortunately he takes the exact opposite tack, recommits to his programme and against all United Nations Security Council resolutions continues to explode, continues to shoot missiles and continues to threaten and be provocative in the region,” Kerry said.
”Which is why every country in the region, every neighbour of his in the region, and outside of the region, near neighbours, are opposed to what he is doing. He stands alone and he invites even greater isolation,” Kerry added.
Sergei Lavrov told reporters that a message must be sent “very strongly” on implementing U.N. resolutions on North Korea.
”An official statement has been made by Russia, expressing our non-acceptance of the actions that violate the resolutions of the Security Council, and we consider those actions as the neglect of international law by Pyongyang, and we cannot allow their line – to undermine the non-proliferation regime, which threatens peace and security – would not be noticed,” said Lavrov.
”On the other hand you are right that the current situation shows that maybe diplomats should be more creative than just responding with sanctions, sanctions and sanctions again, on any aggravation of the situation. I am convinced that by condemning those dangerous exploits of the North Korean government, we must refrain from steps that could lead to a further escalation of tensions, and put this region on the verge of, we may say, armed opposition,” he added.
North Korea set off a blast on Friday that was more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile.
Its most powerful explosion to date follows a test in January that prompted the U.N. Security Council to impose tightened sanctions that increased North Korea’s isolation but failed to prevent it from accelerating weapons development.
North Korea’s continued testing despite sanctions presents a severe challenge to Obama in the final months of his presidency and could become a factor in the U.S. presidential election in November.
