Russian, Chinese Foreign Ministers Discuss Situation on Korean Peninsula, Syria
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Russian and Chinese Foreign Ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi, discussed over the phone on Friday the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the Syrian settlement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"The two sides discussed the most pressing international issues, including the current state of affairs in the Syrian settlement and the situation on the Korean Peninsula along with the schedule of the upcoming bilateral contacts," the ministry said.
The situation on the Korean Peninsula deteriorated again at the beginning of last year when Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test and later launched a ballistic missile with an artificial Earth satellite. In September 2016, North Korea conducted another nuclear test and carried out more than 200 missile launches throughout the year. Such launches continued this year. After another similar test in early March the command of the US contingent in the Republic of Korea announced it had begun deploying the THAAD air defense systems in that country despite objections from Moscow and Beijing, Tass reported.
The US has stated on numerous occasions recently that it is considering all possible options with regard to North Korea. On April 9, it became known that the US Pacific Command had dispatched a strike group led by USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier towards the Korean Peninsula.
However, according to Pentagon Chief James Mattis, the move did not stem from any specific reasons.