Tillerson, Lavrov agree to continue N.Korea diplomacy

The US and Russia have agreed to continue diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis over North Korea’s development of nuclear missiles and emphasized that neither accepts Pyongyang as a nuclear power, the US State Department said on Wednesday.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone on Tuesday, after Washington and the UN both announced sanctions against North Korea in recent days.

“The two discussed concerns related to the DPRK’s destabilizing nuclear program and emphasized that neither the US nor Russia accepts the DPRK as a nuclear power,” Nauert said in a statement, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

She said both sides agreed to continue working toward a diplomatic way to achieve a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

On Tuesday, Russia reiterated an offer to mediate to ease tensions between Washington and Pyongyang that have raised fears of a new conflict on the peninsula.

Moscow said Lavrov told Tillerson “Washington’s aggressive rhetoric” and beefing up of its military presence in the region had heightened tension and was unacceptable.

Russia has repeatedly called for talks to resolve the crisis and said Lavrov underscored the need for “the fastest move to the negotiating process from the language of sanctions.”

Tillerson has emphasized diplomacy but the administration of President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that all options, including military ones, are on the table regarding North Korea.

In October, Trump said Tillerson was “wasting his time” trying to negotiate with North Korea and this month the White House followed up an offer by the secretary of state to begin talks with no pre-conditions by saying that no negotiations could be held until North Korea improves its behavior.