ABSTRACT

Russia's policy on North Korea's nuclear issue can be boiled down to three principles: North Korea's nuclear proliferation is unacceptable; North Korea's nuclear issue should be resolved by political and diplomatic means and North Korea's security should be guaranteed first before the country would abandon its nuclear programs. Russia's primary interest in its dealings with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is peace and stability in and around Korea. For this reason, Moscow has refused to go along with debilitating sanctions let alone military actions against the DPRK to penalize the latter for unrelenting nuclear and long-range missile programs and violating UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR). In the wake of the Yeonpyeong artillery exchanges, the South vowed to go ahead with a live firing drill near Yeonpyeong and the North threatened military retaliation. When tensions increased after North Korea's artillery shelling on Yeonpyeong Island, China called for emergency six-party consultations.