Russia Awaits US, S Korea, Japan's Participation in Talks on N Korea - Lawmaker

Russia expects the United States, South Korea and Japan to actively engage in negotiation processes on North Korea rather than to respond reciprocally with provocations against Pyongyang, Konstantin Kosachev, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian upper house of parliament, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, media reported that North Korea had conducted yet another ballistic missile engine test Friday, the third such test in recent weeks, which could facilitate eventual development of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"The experience of the Iranian nuclear program has demonstrated that it [negotiations] works, but an important prerequisite is the unity of the international community. Negotiating and simultaneously increasing military threats against the DPRK is useless: this will have the opposite effect and accelerate the development of weapons," Kosachev said.

He added that the building of further missile defense systems would not eliminate the threat posed by the North Korean missile program as Pyongyang was reportedly working on ways to overcome such shields.

"Therefore, we have the right to expect from Washington, Seoul and Tokyo an active inclusion in the negotiation process instead of the reciprocal… provocations against North Korea," Kosachev said.