Russia will not support the US proposal to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue at the UN Security Council, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said here today, at a press conference after his return from Pyongyang and Beijing, where he held talks with North Korean and Chinese leaders as a special envoy of President Vladimir Putin. “The attempts to raise the issue at the UN Security Council will be regarded in Pyongyang as additional attempts to bring pressure on the N Korea,” Losyukov said, warning that adoption of any economic sanctions might be viewed by the N Korean leadership as the “declaration of war.” He pointed out that Russia’s stance on the issue was also shared by Chinese leaders. Expressing hope that the crisis around N Korea can be solved, Losyukov stressed that Pyongyang’s reaction to the Russian “package settlement” initiative was positive. N Korea promised to examine the package saying it was “ready to work on it if the US was ready to examine the initiative”.
