Russia says Japan, South Korea, US preparing for war with North Korea

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Japan, South Korea, and the US are preparing for a war with North Korea.

“We see how the US, Japan and South Korea are building a new military bloc that is increasing military activity, and conducting unprecedented large-scale exercises with the openly declared goal of preparing for war with the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea),” he said at a news conference in New York.

The minister pointed out that Russia once offered to establish a zone of safety and peace on the Korean Peninsula but the US opposed the idea as a "premature one."

The minister noted that Japan and South Korea frequently use "aggressive rhetoric" against North Korea, and there are talks about opening a NATO office in Japan, which will be most likely followed by the deployment of the alliance's military infrastructure in this country.

“The USA-Japan-South Korea triangle is said to be developing cooperation in the nuclear field,” he stressed, noting that all such plans are seen by Pyongyang as a threat.

Turning to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's statement about the absence of plans to reunite with South Korea, Lavrov wondered why it attracted so much attention while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks ruling out the establishment of a Palestinian state did not.

According to the minister, the world is divided because the West wants to preserve its dominance while "former colonies" endeavor to develop and strengthen their statehood and sovereignty after becoming independent.

“The West is already lagging behind, at least behind (economic bloc) BRICS,” he said.

Lavrov urged the US "to respect the realities of the modern world" and stop thinking that it can strangle everyone with the dollar, disconnect from the SWIFT system, refusal of loans through the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The minister compared the situation in global politics with a conflict between the older and younger generation. When older ones abuse their development and offend the younger ones, the younger ones grow up enough and fight back, he added.