Russian ambassador urges restraint

By Kim Young-jin

Regional players should refrain from any action that could be interpreted as provocative, the top Russian envoy in Korea said Wednesday amid high tensions after North Korea’s shelling last month of Yeonpyeong Island.

Speaking before a National Assembly forum, Russian Ambassador to Seoul Konstantine Vnukov also recommended increasing economic cooperation among Russia and the two Koreas as a way to ratchet down tensions and deal with the North’s nuclear program.

“Russia is currently considering the very serious situation around the Korean Peninsula and asking countries to prevent further escalation,” he said. “Parties concerned should avoid behavior that could be misinterpreted because military action can escalate quickly.”

The remarks came after Moscow condemned the Nov. 23 artillery attack, as well as, reportedly, the North’s revelation of a uranium enrichment program.

The shelling, which killed four South Koreans, came eight months after the deadly sinking of a South Korean frigate that a Seoul-led investigation pinned on Pyongyang.

“After the Cheonan incident in March and North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, Russia knows well that it is becoming more difficult to deal with the North Korean nuclear problem,” Vnukov said.

Russia sent a team of experts to the South to probe the results of the international examination, but has so far remained mum on the findings.

Seoul’s campaign to censure the North at the U.N. Security Council for the ship sinking ultimately failed due to objections from China and Russia, permanent members of the council. But Moscow has indicated it would support U.N. condemnation of the shelling.

Vnukov also stressed the view of Russia, a member of the stalled six-party talks on the North denuclearization, that the nuclear issue and improved inter-Korean relations should be dealt with in concert.

China, host of the talks, recently proposed an emergency meeting of the forum to address the soaring tensions. But Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have instead called for the North to demonstrate its genuine intent to denuclearize before any such meeting could take place. Russia has yet to weigh in.

“The nuclear problem is the main challenge in achieving normalized inter-Korean relations and only by solving the nuclear problem can we ensure stability in the region,” he said.

The envoy reiterated Moscow’s call for Russia and both Koreas to engage in economic cooperation projects ― linking the Trans-Korean railway with the Trans-Siberian Railway, building an energy network in Northeast Asia and building gas pipelines ― to foster inter-Korean relations and suggested more bilateral talks with Seoul to address the nuclear issue.