As American and North Korean leaders are making preparations to meet for denuclearization talks, Russia and EU officials on April 21 gave their thumbs up to North Korea's announcement that it intends to stop its nuclear and missile tests.
On Saturday North Korean officials had announced that North Korea will halt nuclear and missile tests and dismantle a nuclear test site in the country's northern area, as it prepares for two historic summits, one with South Korea on April 27 and another with the President of the United States sometime in early June.
“We welcome the statement of the Chairman of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), Kim Jong-un, that was backed by the April 20 resolution of the plenum of the Central Committee of the KWP, on the halt to nuclear and missile tests by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the use of the nuclear test site in this country from April 21, 2018,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on April 21.
Moscow considers the decision to be an important step towards the further easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the consolidation of positive trends in normalizing the situation in northeast Asia.
Zakharova called on the U.S. and the Republic of Korea, better known as South Korea, to take relevant reciprocal steps aimed at reducing military activities in the region, and reaching mutually acceptable agreements with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea, at the upcoming inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korean summits.
Senior Russian legislators from both houses of the Russian Federal Assembly – the State Duma and the Council of the Federation – also hailed North Korea's statement on suspension of missile and nuclear weapons tests.
"Kim Jong-un has succeeded in turning the U.S. towards dialogue, which will increase his status and give him the aura of a wise leader. Stopping nuclear testing is a wise move, all the more so as its nuclear potential has already been created," Russian senator Aleksey Pushkov told state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.
The chairman of the Federation Council's information policy committee, Aleksey Pushkov, believes Kim's move would reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula while not disposing of his trump card.
In a tweet sent on April 21, however, the senior member of the Russian Federation Council described it as encouraging news, but doubted that Kim would abandon his nuclear potential.
“The euphoria over the DPRK's halting nuclear tests is hardly appropriate. This is encouraging news, but it does not cancel the fact that Pyongyang possesses nuclear weapons. It is unrealistic to conclude that Kim will abandon the nuclear potential,” Pushkov said.
The head of the State Duma's international affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, also welcomed the news of Kim's decision, saying it was "really good news.”
"This is a correct and wise decision, aimed at guaranteeing global stability and nuclear security. Pyongyang is thus demonstrating its commitment to international law and complying with the will of the United Nations," RIA quoted him as saying.
Slutsky noted the move provided a good basis for further talks with the U.S. and South Korean leaders, and stopped short of crediting the recent developments to, "the result of sanctions pressure and Western threats.”
He cautioned the U.S. and South Korea against provocations, calling on them to avoid further "condescending tone or any more provocations from their side towards Pyongyang.”
Yet not all analysts agree with Slutsky’s position.
“Both in relation to North Korea, and in relation to Iran, tough enough sanctions can lead to a positive result in terms of reducing military and political tensions,” Major General Vladimir Dvorkin, a former head of a Russian Defense Ministry research institute on strategic nuclear weapons told the military news agency Interfax-AVN on April 21.
“Despite the robustness of these sanctions, China continued to cooperate with North Korea in border areas. There were instances when Russian oil vessels directly pumped oil into North Korean ships at sea. And then all of this stopped and Kim Jong-un began to understand that things were bad,” Dvorkin said.
The expert said that the situation became difficult not only for the people, about whom Kim may not care, but also for his elite, who have always been involved in and profited from cross-border trade. Now all this has ended, and he just became afraid.
Dvorkin added that Kim Jong-un's consent to meet U.S. President Donald Trump was also the consequence of international sanctions.
A senior American diplomat on Sunday called North Korea's recent announcement a "very positive" step and emphasized the need for close coordination with U.S. allies in the run-up to the historic summits planned with the reclusive state.
Susan Thornton, acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, made the remarks upon arriving at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul.
"I think that is very positive. Of course, we are going to be doing a lot of close coordination with the ROK, allies and partners this week. Maybe I will have more to say after the meetings this week. Very happy to be here," she was quoted by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency as saying.