Address by H.E.Mr.Gleb A.Ivashentsov,

Ambassador of Russia,

at the Meet on the DPRK nuclear programme at the National

Assembly of the Republic of Korea

(Seoul, June 23th , 2009)

Honorable Speaker,

Honorable Members of the National Assembly,

Dear Colleagues Ambassadors,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for your kind invitation to take part in the discussion on the nuclear programme of the DPRK.

That issue is of a direct concern for Russia as the DPRK conducted its nuclear tests in an area which is located at a distance of less then 180 kilometers from our border. We do not like such a situation. We need neither nuclear nor missile tests at our border. Russia does not recognize the DPRK as a nuclear power and together with the partners in the “Six-Party” talks tried its best to convince Pyongyang to give up the military nuclear programme.

The recent nuclear test by the DPRK cannot be viewed but as an open violation of the Resolution 1718 of the UN Security Council which inter alia demanded that Pyongyang should abstain from nuclear tests. I would like to remind that the above resolution was adopted in accordance with article 41, chapter VII of the UN Charter, and was compulsory for all UN member-states without exception. Russia as a permanent member of the UN Security Council does not intend and cannot in any form justify any actions detrimental to the authority of the UN Security Council.

The North Korean nuclear test goes contrary not only to the UNSC resolutions but to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty as well. Russia is one of the founding fathers of those documents. We think they are extremely important to current international relations. So anything which would undermine the regimes of those two treaties is very serious and needs a strong response.

The DPRK’s recent actions provoke escalation of tension in Northeast Asia and threaten peace and security in the region. Pyongyang should bear accountability for that and by adopting on June 12^th its resolution 1874 the UN Security Council sent the North Koreans an appropriate message. However we think that it would be counter-productive to undertake steps leading to the de-facto complete international isolation of the DPRK.

Therefore the additional restrictive measures in regard to Pyongyang provided by Resolution 1874 should be of a strictly addressed character and should not infringe the needs of the civil population in humanitarian aid and the economic assistance.

The new sanctions are to be implemented exclusively according to article 41 Chapter VII of the UN Charter which means without use of military force. Russia also sticks to the position that potential inspections of ships in the high seas would be carried out in the context of the implementation of the above resolution only and should not be construed into a precedent or in a broadened way.

In no case the doors for dialogue with Pyongyang are to be shut. Otherwise the international community would risk to fully lose any leverage to influence North Koreans that could incite them to new adventures dangerous not only to regional security but to global WMD proliferation as well.

We understand that the DPRK might have certain concerns about its own security, when the factor of force was getting more and more manifested in the international relations and the language of ultimatums was widely used. However we do not view a real alternative to provide her security but along political and diplomatic tracks by forming relevant regional institutions with the participation of all interested parties. Therefore we appeal to our counterparts in the DPRK to show a responsible approach proceeding from the interests of maintenance of stability in the region and of the WMD non-proliferation regime as well as of respect to and implementation of the UN Security Council decisions. We continue to hold to our stand that the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula can be settled in the framework of the Six-Party process only.

With all our condemnation of the recent missile launches and nuclear tests in the DPRK, I would like to note that Pyongyang's actions were not sudden ones. The North Koreans had notified about such a possibility a number of times well in advance. Those events were triggered by the disruption of the Six-Party talks and it is not only the DPRK which could be blamed for that disruption. Therefore if we really want to find a way out of the present crisis it is very important to cut off emotions. We are to thoroughly analyze all new nuances and move forward while combining firmness and determination with restraint and composure.

The recent actions of the DPRK should not be used by anyone as a pretext for a forceful enlargement of own military potential, first of all for building nuclear arsenals, and strengthening military alliances creating lines of division and confrontation in Northeast Asia.

It is necessary to take all efforts to resume the Six-Party talks process and to continue the search for an universally acceptable settlement of the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula on the basis of the already achieved accords and taking into account justified interests and concerns of all parties. On the other hand all parties to the talks should fully implement all their obligations in regard to denuclearization as well as in regard to economic compensations. We should also continue our discussions on the draft guiding principles of peace and security in Northeast Asia in the framework of the relevant working group headed by Russia.

In our opinion the solution of the problem lies not in that first to achieve a complete and final nuclear disarmament of North Korea and after that to settle political issues left from the time of the Korean War. There should be a parallel advancing in two directions. First, in the direction of freezing and dismantling of the DPRK's military nuclear programme along with its coming back to the NPT and under the guarantees of the IAEA. And secondly, in the direction of defusing political tension on the Korean peninsula and promoting dialogue between the DPRK and the Republic of Korea as well as with other countries of the region. It is only on such a path that the nuclear issue will be settled strategically and finally.

Russia has been constantly standing in favor of the moves by two Korean states aimed at peaceful unification and is prepared to make its contribution to the cause of inter-Korean normalization as well. As in our, and not only our, understanding, the settlement of the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula and the inter-Korean normalization are two wheels of the same cart. Of that only cart which could bring us to our common destination of peace and security in Northeast Asia.

To facilitate the process Russia has suggested earlier a number of major tripartite partnership projects involving Russia and both Korean states such as linking the Transkorean railway with the Transsiberian railway as well as creating a common electric power grid in Northeast Asia and a pipeline system connecting the Korean peninsula with Eastern Siberia and Russian Far Eastern regions. We are of the firm opinion that the realization of such and similar joint projects on the Korean peninsula with Russia or other international actors could not only bring considerable economic benefit to the participating countries but also promote mutual trust and confidence which is the most needed for building bridges between Pyongyang and Seoul.

The common work on long term mutually beneficial joint economic projects, is the best way to build mutual trust and confidence. We experienced that in the Soviet times in late 1960-s and early 1970-s. when the first gas pipe-line was laid from the Soviet Union to Western Europe and the West European companies took part in construction of a number of industrial plants in the USSR like the Volga automobile plant by the FIAT company of Italy. Those economic projects largely helped to promote detente in Europe which led to the success of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1975. To take another example from the European developments one can also recall that the first step towards the European Union was made almost sixty years back by creation of the European Coal and Steel Community.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The developments on the Korean Peninsula will to much extent determine the future of not only Northeast Asia but the whole of the Asia Pacific Area and the world processes.

On one hand the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula could create a precedent for settling similar problems in other regions of the world and could become thereby an important contribution to the strengthening of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation regime.

On the other hand the Six-Party talks represent a case of a multilateral decision making on a hottest international issue which is utterly important in the present world conditions. It is on such basis only and not by one-sided forceful reactions that we could today stabilize the disbalanced system of international relations, promote its deideologization and demilitarization and advance to a more democratic, to a more just and – through that – to a more secure world order.