Russia Calls on All Parties to Prevent Nuclear Confrontation in Northeast Asia - Ryabkov

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is calling on all parties involved in the situation around the Korean Peninsula to focus on avoiding a nuclear confrontation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik.

"I wouldn’t want to talk about the prospects for an open nuclear confrontation in Northeast Asia, since the efforts of all the parties involved should be concentrated on avoiding it," Ryabkov said.

"I also want to add that the only reliable way not just to move away from the dangerous mark, but to solve the numerous problems, including the nuclear one, of the subregion, would be the creation of a peacekeeping system."

He added that Russia is ready for dialogue with all the interested parties on the basis of joint initiatives with China and the general road map on resolving the issues of the Korean Peninsula.

Earlier this month, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol dialed back on his comment that Seoul could make its own nuclear weapons or have them redeployed from the United States, assuring the media on the sidelines of the Davos economic forum that his country remained committed to the non-proliferation regime.

On January 11, the South Korean leader said his country could host foreign nuclear weapons or create its own if the threat from North Korea grows. He also said that Seoul and Washington were discussing joint deterrence planning, potentially involving US nuclear assets.

The United States pulled nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula in 1991. Under the NPT, it is committed not to transfer nuclear weapons to other countries or assist non-nuclear countries in acquiring such weapons.

During the sixth Plenary Meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a boost of the country’s nuclear arsenal.