United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said it was time to “dial down rhetoric and dial up diplomacy” on North Korea, offering to help broke
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said it was time to “dial down rhetoric and dial up diplomacy” on North Korea, offering to help broker talks with the parties involved in the dispute.
“My good offices are always available – and I conveyed this message yesterday to the representatives of the six-party talks, ” Guterres told reporters on Wednesday amid growing tensions in the Korean peninsula since Pyongyang conducted ballistic missiles test last month.
“The solution to this crisis must be political. The potential consequences of military action are too horrific to even contemplate.”
The UN chief’s comments come on the day China warned the US and North Korea to “hit the brakes” on threats and actions, and work towards a peaceful resolution of their dispute .
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Guterres said he also told representatives from the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia about the offer.
In the wake of its recent ballistic tests, North Korea was slapped with UN sanctions – a decision Pyongyang dubbed a “violent violation of North’s sovereignty”.
North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said in a statement on August 7 that Pyongyang was ready to give the US a “severe lesson” if Washington took military action.
