US responsible for escalations in Korean Peninsula: Russia, China
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China and Russia stressed the necessity for the parties involved to concentrate their efforts on finding a political and diplomatic solution to the issues in Northeast Asia.
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The Trilateral Frontier Memorial at the Observation Deck in the Fangchuan National Scenic Area, September 15, 2019 (Wikipedia)
After a meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and the Chinese special envoy to Moscow on North Korea Liu Xiaoming, the two parties agreed that Washington and its allies are to blame for the recent escalations in the Korean peninsula.
"The parties discussed in detail the current situation around the Korean Peninsula. The parties agreed that Washington and its allies are responsible for the current escalation and contrary to their own obligations, refuse to conduct a dialogue with North Korea on providing it with security guarantees and take practical confidence-building measures, on the contrary, they are increasing large-scale military exercises in the region that are provocative," the Russian foreign ministry announced in a statement.
The diplomats stressed the necessity for the parties involved to concentrate their efforts on finding a political and diplomatic solution to the issues in Northeast Asia while taking into account the legitimate security concerns of all the states in the region, noting that China and Russia will continue their close coordination on the issue.
Read more: South Korea, US, Japan to conduct drills amid rising DPRK tensions
US and South Korean forces began a series of annual springtime military drills in March, including their first large-scale amphibious landing drills in five years. The joint air and sea exercises involved around 100 aircraft, a US aircraft carrier, and multiple B-1B and B-2 bombers.
Lieutenant General Park Ha-sik, commander of the South Korean air force operation command, said in a statement that the drills "show the strong resolve of the [South] Korea-US alliance and its perfect readiness to respond to any provocation by North Korea swiftly and overwhelmingly."
This follows a DPRK drill testing underwater nuclear drones in late March.
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the DPRK tested an underwater drone that can carry nuclear weapons and launched a test warhead without a nuclear charge from it in the Sea of Japan.
The drone was reportedly put in the waters off South Hamgyong province on Tuesday. Furthermore, it cruised for over 59 hours at a depth of 80 to 150 meters and was detonated off its east coast, KCNA added.
KCNA said the weapon can unleash a "radioactive tsunami".
Read more: US, South Korea launch anti-DPRK nuclear drill over alleged threat
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been escalating, as the US and South Korea completed what was described as the largest joint field exercises in five years in late February.
Pyongyang said the "irresponsible acts" of Washington and Seoul will take the region "to a very critical and uncontrollable phase."
