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South Korean President seeks help from Putin in dealing with the North

Ilya Arkhipov and Kanga Kong (Bloomberg)
Vladivostok, Russia
Wed, September 6, 2017

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South Korean President seeks help from Putin in dealing with the North This picture taken on May 14 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 15 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (3rd R) inspecting a ground-to-ground medium long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 at an undisclosed location. (STR / KCNA VIA KNS / AFP/File)

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outh Korean President Moon Jae-in sought to find common ground with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to prevent the situation on the Korean peninsula from spinning out of control.

“If we fail to stop North Korea’s provocations now, it could sink into an uncontrollable situation,” Moon said in opening remarks before a meeting with Putin in Vladivostok, Russia, on Wednesday. “I want to seek a fundamental solution to resolve the North Korea nuclear problem here.”

Putin, who derided increased sanctions as “useless and ineffective” a day earlier, said that he welcomed the opportunity to discuss North Korea with Moon. Russia and China both hold vetoes on the United Nations Security Council, which is considering new sanctions against Kim Jong Un’s regime after it conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sunday.

“They’ll eat grass, but they won’t abandon their program unless they feel secure,” Putin told reporters Tuesday at an emerging markets summit in Xiamen, China, which was hosted by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

North Korean has been seen readying another launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could come before it marks the anniversary of its founding on Sept. 9. Kim claimed on Sunday that he could fit a warhead onto an ICBM capable of striking the continental U.S.

President Donald Trump, who has warned North Korea of “fire and fury” if it continues threatening the U.S., plans to speak Wednesday evening with Xi, the White House said in a statement. Trump has threatened to cut off trade with all countries that do business with North Korea, a group that includes China.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also plans to visit Vladivostok for talks with Moon and Putin. He told reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday that he wants North Korea to understand it has “no bright future” if it continues on its current path.

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