The US ambassador to the UN visited the highly secure inter-Korean border on Tuesday, urging Pyongyang to
“sit at the negotiating table”
. Linda Thomas-Greenfield arrived in South Korea on Sunday with the aim of maintaining pressure on nuclear-armed North Korea. The visit comes after a Russian veto in the Security Council in late March led to the dissolution of the UN sanctions monitoring system against Pyongyang.
“The United States has no hostile intent toward the DPRK
,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield stressed in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas, using the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Korea.
“We keep the door open to constructive diplomacy and we remain open to dialogue
,” she said.
“All the DPRK (has) to do is say yes and come to the table”
of the negotiations. The United States and South Korea condemned Moscow's veto as an
"irresponsible"
act .
Asked about ties between North Korea and Russia, Linda Thomas-Greenfield responded:
"It's definitely one of our concerns
. "
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit in the Russian Far East, during which Kim Jong-un said ties with Moscow were the
"number one priority." "
from his country. In early March, South Korea said North Korea had shipped about 7,000 containers of weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine since transfers began in July. In addition to Russia, Kim Jong-un seeks to strengthen his ties with China.
“We strongly ask Russia and China to reverse course and once again urge Pyongyang to choose diplomacy and sit down at the negotiating table
,” insisted Ms. Thomas-Greenfield.