MOSCOW. July 4 (Interfax) - Moscow and Beijing have put forward a joint initiative to resolve the Korean peninsula's problems, in particular, by suggesting that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) cease its nuclear and missile tests, while Washington and Seoul discontinue their large-scale joint exercises, the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries said in a joint statement.
"The parties propose that the DPRK declare, as a voluntary political solution, a moratorium on the testing of nuclear explosive devices and test-launches of ballistic missiles, while the U.S. and the Republic of Korea refrain accordingly from conducting large-scale joint exercises," the statement, published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website on Tuesday, said.
"Concurrently, the opposing sides will proceed to talks and approve the general relationship principles including the non-use of force, renunciation of aggression, peaceful co-existence, an intention to make efforts towards denuclearization of the Korean peninsula for the purpose of a comprehensive settlement of all of its problems, including the nuclear problem," the statement says.
The joint Russia-Chinese initiative is based on China's ideas of "double freezing" (of the DPRK's nuclear missile activity and U.S.-S.Korean drills) and "parallel movement forward" towards the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the formation a peace mechanism there, as well as on Russia's gradual plan for Korean settlement, the statement says.
The international community should support the aforesaid initiative "opening up a real path to settling the problems of the Korean peninsula," the statement says.
"The parties intend, jointly with other interested parties, to continue making efforts in order to assist, through dialogue and consultations, in addressing existing concerns in a balanced fashion," the statement says.