Senior diplomat Georgy Zinoviev, head of the First Asia Department, points to the mounting US military presence in the region as the primary catalyst for the escalating tensions over the crisis in Korea.
The specter of a deepening crisis in Korea looms large, as Russia’s Foreign Ministry sounds a dire warning
Zinoviev, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, highlighted the alarming rhetoric emanating from North Korea, the US, South Korea, and Japan. He emphasized the unprecedented appearance of an American Kentucky submarine armed with nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in South Korean waters development unseen since 1981.
Furthermore, Zinoviev expressed skepticism about Washington’s insistence that joint military exercises were purely defensive, suggesting they held implicit anti-Russian and anti-Chinese sentiments. He stressed that a path to de-escalation hinges on the US and its regional partners temporarily suspending military maneuvers and reevaluating their sanctions-centered approach to the crisis in Korea.
North Korea unveiled a formidable “tactical attack submarine,” inaugurated by its leader, Kim Jong-un, capable of nuclear missile launches
Kim also disclosed plans to retrofit existing submarines for nuclear capabilities.
In July, the US deployed its nuclear-capable USS Kentucky submarine off South Korea’s coast, citing the imperative to counter provocations. The subsequent “tactical nuclear attack” drill by North Korea in early September served as a stark warning, underscoring the genuine threat of nuclear conflict. General Kang Sun-nam, the country’s defense minister, echoed this sentiment, asserting the inevitability of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.
This escalation followed the US-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield 23 exercises, featuring at least one American B-1B nuclear-capable strategic bomber in mid-August. The crisis in Korea intensified, heightening global concerns for stability in the region.
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