‘The road to nowhere’
Russian leader raises war fears as US and South Korea agree to revise their joint missile treaty and a ban on Americans travelling to the reclusive North takes effect. Putin joins the fray over North Korea’s missile tests
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the standoff between North Korea and the United States is close to spilling into a large-scale conflict, and says it is a mistake to try to pressure Pyongyang into halting its nuclear missile programme.
Putin, who is due to attend a summit of the BRICS nations in China next week, said yesterday the only way to de-escalate tensions was via talks. Sergei Lavrov, his foreign minister, said Washington, not Pyongyang, should take the initiative on that.
‘‘It is essential to resolve the region’s problems through direct dialogue involving all sides without advancing any preconditions [for such talks],’’ Putin, whose country shares a border with North Korea, wrote on the Kremlin’s website.
‘‘Provocations, pressure, and bellicose and offensive rhetoric is the road to nowhere.’’
The Russian leader, whose nuclear-capable bombers recently overflew the Korean Peninsula in a show of force, said the situation had deteriorated so badly that it was now ‘‘balanced on the verge of a large-scale conflict’’.
Pyongyang has been working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the mainland US, and recently threatened to land missiles near the US Pacific territory of Guam.
On Tuesday, North Korea, which sees annual joint war games between the US and South Korea as preparations for an invasion, raised the stakes by firing an intermediate-range missile over Japan.
‘‘In Russia’s opinion, the calculation that it is possible to halt North Korea’s nuclear missile programmes exclusively by putting pressure on Pyongyang is erroneous and futile,’’ Putin wrote.
A road map formulated by Moscow and Beijing, which would involve North Korea halting its missile programme in exchange for the US and South Korea stopping large-scale war games, was a way to reduce tensions, he wrote.
Lavrov, addressing students in Moscow, said he felt events were building towards a war which he said would cause large numbers In Russia’s opinion, the calculation that it is possible to halt North Korea’s nuclear missile programmes exclusively by putting pressure on Pyongyang is erroneous and futile.
Vladimir Putin of casualties in Japan and South Korea if it happened.
‘‘If we want to avoid a war, the first step must be taken by the side that is the more intelligent and stronger,’’ said Lavrov, making it clear he was referring to the US.
He said Russia was working behind the scenes, and that Moscow knew that Washington had a back channel to Pyongyang, nuclear weapons programmes in defiance of international warnings and United Nations sanctions.
‘‘The two leaders agreed to the principle of revising the missile guideline to a level desired by South Korea, sharing the view that it was necessary to strengthen South Korea’s defence capabilities in response to North Korea’s provocations and threats,’’ South Korea’s presidential Blue House said.
South Korea’s development of its ballistic missiles is limited to range of 800 kilometres and a payload weight of 500 kilograms under a bilateral treaty revised in 2012. It has said it wants to revise the agreement to increase the cap on the payload.
The two countries agreed to the cap as part of a commitment to a voluntary international arms control pact known as the Missile Technology Control Regime, aimed at limiting the proliferation missiles and nuclear weapons.
Trump and Moon pledged to continue to apply strong diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea and to make all necessary preparations to defend against the growing threat by the North, the White House said.
Trump, who has warned that the US military is ‘‘locked and loaded’’ in case of further North Korean provocation, reacted angrily to the latest missile test, declaring on Twitter that ‘‘talking is not the answer’’ to resolving the crisis.
North Korea defends its weapons programmes as necessary to counter perceived US aggression, such as recent air manoeuvres with South Korean and Japanese jets.
Meanwhile, a US ban on Americans travelling to North Korea took effect yesterday, amid concerns about the fate of those who have been detained there in the past.
The US has said its citizens can start applying for exemptions, but few will be granted.
The ban, announced by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in July after the death of American student Otto Warmbier following his release from North Korea, makes US passports invalid for travel to the North.
Americans who have a valid reason to travel to North Korea could still go under ‘‘extremely limited’’ circumstances, the State Department said, adding that applicants had to prove that their trip was in the US national interest.
Professional journalists assigned to collect information for public consumption about North Korea might be eligible, along with Red Cross representatives on officially sponsored missions. Humanitarian workers also could receive exemptions.
For those denied an exemption, there is no appeal.
Under the law, Americans who violate the ban could face a fine and up to 10 years in prison for a first offence. The State Department has emphasised the possibility that those who violate the ban could have their passports revoked.