SEOUL/UNITED NATIONS (REUTERS) – The United Nations political affairs chief told senior North Korean officials during a visit to Pyongyang this week that there was an “urgent need to prevent miscalculations and open channels to reduce the risks of conflict,” the world body said..
SEOUL/UNITED NATIONS (REUTERS) – The United Nations political affairs chief told senior North Korean officials during a visit to Pyongyang this week that there was an “urgent need to prevent miscalculations and open channels to reduce the risks of conflict,” the world body said.
Jeffrey Feltman, the highest-level UN official to visit North Korea since 2012, met with Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and Vice-Minister Pak Myong Guk, the United Nations said in a statement on Saturday (Dec 9) after Feltman arrived back in Beijing.
Feltman emphasised the need for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions and that the international community was committed to achieving a peaceful solution.
“He also said there can only be a diplomatic solution to the situation, achieved through a process of sincere dialogue. Time is of the essence,” the United Nations said. “They… agreed that the current situation was the most tense and dangerous peace and security issue in the world today.”
North Korea is pursuing nuclear and missile weapons programmes in defiance of UN sanctions and international condemnation. On Nov 29, it test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile which it said was its most advanced yet, capable of reaching the mainland United States.
