Russia ready to cooperate with DPRK and ROK

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his Republic of Korea (ROK) counterpart Moon Jae-in that Russia is ready to facilitate cooperation between Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and ROK, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

In a 35-minute phone conversation, Putin told Moon that Russia was ready to help with trilateral infrastructure and energy projects on the Korean peninsula, and raised the importance of Russia and the ROK having trilateral economic cooperation with the DPRK. Putin also invited Moon to visit Moscow in June during the call.

In a press release, Putin and Moon positively assessed the agreements reached at the meeting.

A woman reads a newspaper with a front page story about the inter-Korean summit between DPRK’s Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, in Koreatown, Los Angeles, California, April 27, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The Russian president confirmed his country's readiness to promote cooperation between ROK and the DPRK, particularly through the implementation of major tripartite infrastructure and energy projects.

Putin stressed the importance of all parties involved in the political and diplomatic settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue to continue following a roadmap proposed by China and Russia.

The roadmap suggests that the DPRK suspend its nuclear and missile tests and the United States and the ROK end their annual joint military drills on the peninsula. It also proposes a dual-track approach involving the establishment of a peace mechanism while achieving denuclearization.

People look at a television screen with news of US President Donald Trump's planned meeting of DPRK’s Kim Jong Un in Koreatown, Los Angeles, California, April 27, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Tensions on the peninsula have eased dramatically since the beginning of 2018, leading to the historic summit between Moon and Kim on Friday.

The two leaders signed a joint declaration confirming the common goal of complete denuclearization on the peninsula while agreeing to multilateral talks to turn the current armistice agreement between the DPRK and ROK into a peace treaty.

DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un and ROK President Moon Jae-in met on Friday at the inter-Korean summit and confirmed the common goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. The DPRK is set to close its Punggye-ri nuclear site in May and has decided to return to the Seoul time zone.

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency