Russia welcomes DPRK readiness for freezing nuclear activities
PLA Daily 2004-01-14
MOSCOW, Jan. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov welcomed on Tuesday the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) readiness to freeze its nuclear activities and urged the United States to respond "constructively."
"We welcome Pyongyang's readiness to freeze its nuclear program,Ivanov said in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, where he was on an official visit."
"Undoubtedly, this is a step forward, which allows us to hope for a constructive response from the United States," he was quotedby the Itar-Tass and Interfax news agencies as saying.
Pyongyang said that it is set to refrain from testing and producing nuclear weapons and stop operating nuclear power industry for a peaceful purpose as first-phase measures of the package solution.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has called Pyongyang's announcement "a positive step" which may help concerned parties toresume talks designed to settle the nuclear issue.
Ivanov expressed satisfaction over Powell's response, saying "this can provide a sound foundation for continuing the negotiatingprocess."
Ivanov repeated Russia's stance on the settlement of nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula through "exclusively peaceful means and through negotiations taking mutual concerns into consideration."
"A nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, the peninsula's further participation in the nuclear nonproliferation regime, the securityof all states located there, and the development of peaceful cooperation in North-East Asia are the interests of Russia and other countries," Ivanov said.
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