Russia urges prevention of further trouble on Korean Peninsula

Russian lawmakers on Wednesday told media measures needed to be taken to calm tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council (Russia's upper house of parliament), told the Itar-Tass news agency this was the primary task of the international community and the United Nations shall play an important part in this process.

"The world needs neither a war on the Korean Peninsula, nor a nuclear-powered Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," said Margelov, adding it was possible for the international community to eliminate tensions on the peninsula via peaceful ways.

Despite the fact that both South Korea and DPRK had made tough statements, the senator did not recognize the probability of a war between the two countries.

"Be it militarily or economically speaking, forces on the Korean Peninsula are not balanced," he said.

Meanwhile, Margelov's lower house counterpart Konstantin Kosachev said the same day that, as a neighboring country, Russia particularly desired a peaceful solution to the currently strained situations.

"It is of vital significance for global security and stability to retain the peace of the Korean Peninsula," Kosachev said.

He also said Russia should apply political rather than military pressure. He also did not rule out the possibility of Russia joining the actions of the UN Security Council against DPRK, should it be proved it was responsible for sinking the South Korean warship Cheonan.

On May 20, South Korea accused the DPRK of sinking its Cheonan warship in a torpedo attack in March. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Monday said his country would resort to measures of self-defense in case of further military provocation by the DPRK and demanded an apology from Pyongyang.

The DPRK denied the accusation and offered to send inspectors to verify the evidence.

The Cheonan, a 1,200-ton South Korean warship with 104 crew members on board, sank on March 26 near the maritime border with the DPRK after an explosion. Only 58 sailors were saved.

Source: Xinhua