MOSCOW. July 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian State Duma member Andrei Kokoshin has expressed the opinion that the U.S. will fail to overcome the crisis over North Korea's possible acquisition of nuclear arms if assistance is not extended from Russia and China.
"The international community still has a chance to resolve the issue of North Korea's non-acquisition of nuclear arms. However, the latest events have shown that the U.S. cannot resolve the crisis related to North Korea's acquisition of nuclear arms and the means of their delivery without Russia and China," Kokoshin, the chairman of the national security commission of the United Russia party, told Interfax-Military News Agency.
However, the three countries are pursuing "different goals in relation to North Korea, while Pyongyang wants to deal with the U.S. alone rather than all interested countries simultaneously. The second obstacle can be eliminated by overcoming the first one," he said.
The U.S. should abandon the issue of "regime change in North Korea," he said.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that the U.S., China and Russia should pursue the unified goal of preventing North Korea from acquiring nuclear arms and missiles and ensuring monitoring from the IAEA and other agencies, he said.
"The list of common goals must also include the easing of tension on the Korean Peninsula and the promotion of economic development in North Korea, primarily for sufficient electricity and food supplies," he said.
In this way, the U.S., China and Russia can reaffirm non- interference in North Korea's internal affairs and respect for its sovereignty. "Russia, China and the U.S. must declare that unification of the two Korean states is an issue exclusively for the Koreans and rule out external interference. Political and economic changes in North Korea are a long evolutionary process and so is Korea's unification," he said.
In exchange for North Korea's non-acquisition of nuclear arms and means of their delivery and participation in the non- proliferation regime, the U.S., China and Russia could provide additional security guarantees stipulated by the UN Security Council, he said.