NORTH KOREA WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS - MAIN THREAT TO REGION
RIA Novosti
MOSCOW, February 10 (RIA Novosti) - The chairman of the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachov, is concerned about North Korea's statement of developing nuclear weapons.
"Given the situation in the region, the country's possession of nuclear weapons poses an utterly real threat to the region itself and North Korea's neighbors South Korea and Russia," Mr. Kosachov said. He noted that North Korea had become the ninth nation claiming membership in the nuclear power club.
"The statement of the North Korean Foreign Ministry is another blow to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. This should be admitted as such," the MP said.
As for the immediate threat to other countries and regions, everything depends on whether North Korea has got delivery means or not.
"There is no proof of that so far," he stated.
Mr. Kosachov presumed that the United States would "behave in a tough manner" despite North Korea's alleged nuclear weapons, adding: "Their tough stance proves to be counterproductive."
According to the MP, North Korea's nuclear weapons make the country "a thorn in the side of the whole mankind".
He said another round of the six-party talks was slated for late March and Russia, he stressed, did its best for the talks to take place.
Mr. Kosachov also said that a Russian parliamentary delegation would pay a visit to North Korea in late April to discuss the problem.
"The previous visit by Russian members of parliament to North Korea did not happen, and we hope this one will come true," he said.
On Thursday, North Korea refused to join the six-nation talks on terminating its nuclear program as long as the United States reconsider its hostile approach to Pyongyang and admitted the development of its own nuclear weapons.
Ranking Russian, US, North and South Korean, Chinese and Japanese diplomats have been participating in the negotiations launched in Beijing in August 2003.
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