What's Behind N Korea Summoning Envoys to UN, Russia, China

The meeting of key North Korean ambassadors in Pyongyang could help temporarily defuse the increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula, according to political analyst Dmitry Mosyakov.

Earlier, media reported that North Korea has summoned several key ambassadors to Pyongyang for a meeting in the wake of the ongoing tensions over the North Korean nuclear and missile program and a new round of UN sanctions.

"North Korea seems to be hosting what appears to be a meeting of foreign diplomatic missions' chiefs after calling its ambassadors to major countries back to Pyongyang," Yonhap news agency reported, citing a source in the North Korean government.

According to the report, the source said that North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Ja Song-nam, Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong and Ambassador to Russia Kim Hyong-jun would take part in the meeting; however, it was still unclear who else would participate in the upcoming gathering.

Dmitry Mosyakov, a senior analyst at the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, suggested that the move would help defuse the ongoing tensions, at least for a while.

"I think this may be the best option possible in the current situation. Possibly, they will discuss a new, maybe less hardline, approach," Mosyakov told Sputnik.

According to the expert, summoning ambassadors is usually an emergency measure.

"This practice is applied in such emergency situations as that we’re witnessing now. Almost every country in the world represented by the UN Security Council wants Pyongyang to reign in its nuclear and missile program," Mosyakov said.

He added, "Those ambassadors are very important in terms of notifying the international community of Pyongyang’s policy. It is clear that the move is directly related to the current crisis."

The expert pointed out that it is difficult to speculate on the agenda of the ambassadors’ meeting, but expressed hope that a compromise will be reached.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have recently intensified due to North Korea's multiple nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches conducted in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Last month, Pyongyang conducted two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The US and North Korea have exchanged a series of warmongering statements during the past week. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Russia opposes North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons, adding that the risk of the Washington-Pyongyang conflict turning into a war is "very high."

Russia has repeatedly voiced concern over the escalation on the Korean peninsula. During Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow earlier this summer, the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries issued a joint statement proposing ways to de-escalate the situation. Moscow and Beijing called on Pyongyang to stop nuclear tests and urged Washington and Seoul to refrain from conducting joint drills.

Mosyakov noted that the Russian-Chinese proposal has the potential to pave the way for some kind of a compromise.