October 24, 2017

Russia condemns North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests and opposes overly military activity of countries of the region, which provokes Pyongyang, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.

“We decisively condemn North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests. At the same time, we oppose excessive military activity of several countries of the region that provoke such tests,” Shoigu said at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting.

Philippines is hosting the Eleventh ASEAN defense ministers meeting

The minister said that he believed that the Russia-China roadmap could become a basis for development of political and diplomatic mechanisms for Korean settlement.

“It is important to maintain an open possibility of dialogue with Pyongyang via the ASEAN regional security forum,” he added.

The crisis on the Korean Peninsula has aggravated over the recent months, as North Korea carried out a series on unsanctioned nuclear tests, inciting a global uproar.

In August, most notably, the country’s authorities announced they were considering a missile strike against the US pacific territory of Guam.

In retort to the threats of Pyongyang, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to retaliate with “fire and fury.”

As Pyongyang intensified its nuclear programme and stepped up its hostile rhetoric toward the United States and other countries, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution, which imposed a new batch of sanctions on the North Korean political elite, as well as the country’s economy, industry and military.

In June, China initiated a roadmap for the settlement of North Korean crisis, the so-called double freeze plan, which provides for the simultaneous cessation of North Korea’s nuclear activity and the U.S.-South Korean military exercises.

The initiative has been supported by Russia but rejected by the United States.

North Korea has yet to issue a response to the proposal.