North Korea–Russia Relations - The Nuclear Issue

The Nuclear Issue

Russia stands firmly behind a peaceful resolution of the crisis, achieved through diplomacy and negotiation. Russia points out that any attempt to coerce North Korea using sanctions and force will not change North Korea's behavior but will only heighten tensions on the Korean peninsula. Moscow holds that the tensions on the Korean peninsula should be resolved through political dialogue and peaceful means.

North Korea has attempted to smuggle Russian nuclear and missile specialists into its country. On December 8, 1992, thirty-six Russian nuclear and missile specialists were detained by Russian security agents at the Moscow Airport shortly before their departure for Pyongyang. These specialists had been hired by North Korea at monthly salaries of $1,500--$3,000 to help North Korean nuclear weapon program.

Differences over the issue of the IAEA inspection of two suspected nuclear waste sites in North Korea led to heightened tensions in Korea and in Northeast Asia in 1993. North Korea announced its plan to withdraw from the NPT in 1993 in defiance of mounting international pressure to fully renounce its nuclear weapons program. The LWRs project between Russia and North Korea discontinued in April 1993, when President Boris Yeltsin signed a presidential decree suspending the project in the midst of heightened tensions following North Korea's announcement to withdraw from the NPT. At the same time, Russia discontinued its nuclear assistance to North Korea, which entailed an abrupt halt to personnel training, supplying of nuclear fuel and exchange of nuclear specialists.

In March 1994 during the first North Korean nuclear crisis, Russia, emphasizing its position as a member of Northeast Asia, proposed the eight-party talks, which included participants from North and South Korea, Russia, the U.S., China, Japan, the IAEA and the UN Secretary General.

Since 2002 Russia and North Korea have participated in the six-party talks. Just as the U.S. excluded Russia from the four-party talks in 1994, the U.S. left out Russia and tried to expand the three-party talks into a five-party talks that included North and South Korea, the U.S., China, and Japan. Because of Russia's active efforts as a moderator, North Korea insisted on Russia's joining the talks, and the U.S. accepted it.

On the second crisis, bursted in 2002 Russia continued to call for a balanced reaction, and the official position on this issue became clear when Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov met with Canadian Maurice Strong, top UN envoy for North Korea, in March 2003. Ivanov emphasized that Russia's proposal for the "package deal" is the only solution to the crisis and insisted that the international community maintain a "cautious and balanced approach". Emphasis was put on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through North Korea's observation of the NPT and acceptance of the IAEA’s inspections, and on peaceful political-diplomatic resolution of the crisis through direct US-North Korean talks rather than on a military approach.

Russia carried out a large-scale military exercise in August 18–27, 2003, that was performed under a state of emergency in the Russia Far East in order to gauge the ability to absorb an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees in case of war.

In October 2006 Russia supported United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 condemning North Korea's nuclear test.

After North Korea detonated another nuclear weapon on 25 May 2009 The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a sharp note of condemnation; The statement called the test a "violation" of previous Security Council resolutions and a "serious blow" to the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It also complained that “the latest DPRK moves are provoking an escalation of tension in Northeast Asia.”

North Korea under the third generation leader Kim Jong Urn continues to defies the international community in relation to its nuclear and rocket programme. It has recently advised foreign embassies that the North Korean government could not guarantee their safety in an event of conflict and advise the foreign embassies to reconsider their evacuation plans.