Russian Foreign Ministry Says Korean Peninsula Situation Shows No Sign of Stabilising

Dragon Media News Desk

The situation on the Korean Peninsula shows no sign of stabilising and continues to deteriorate, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. She blamed the worsening situation on large-scale military exercises conducted by the United States and South Korea near North Korea’s border.

Answering a media question on November 3, Zakharova described the exercises as openly provocative. She said the participating countries had acknowledged that the manoeuvres rehearsed pre-emptive strikes against North Korea, including scenarios involving nuclear weapons.

According to Zakharova, the exercises are increasing in frequency and scale and now cover land, air, maritime and cyber operations.

She cited several exercises held in October, including the U.S.–South Korea Iron Mace command-post exercise, which she said rehearsed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula; South Korea’s Hoguk exercise; U.S. airborne training behind the lines of a simulated adversary; and the second U.S.–South Korea Freedom Flag air exercise of the year, scheduled to continue until November 6.

Zakharova also referred to the trilateral, multidomain Freedom Edge exercises conducted by South Korea, the United States and Japan in September, saying they practised military interoperability.

In these circumstances, Russia considers North Korea’s efforts to strengthen its security and defence capabilities lawful and justified, Zakharova said. She said the measures were consistent with the right to self-defence enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

She urged South Korea to stop what she called dangerous military exercises and provocations, particularly in the Demilitarised Zone. Rather than seeking pretexts to accuse North Korea or making what she described as empty declarations about peace, Seoul should respect Pyongyang’s sovereign right to ensure its security by all available means, she said.