Russia, China against N Korea intervention

MOSCOW - Reuters

Russian FM Sergei Lavrov (R) and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi say they would oppose any foreign military intervention in North Korea. AP photo

Russia and China said Feb. 22 they would oppose any foreign military intervention in North Korea over its recent nuclear test.

The two countries’ foreign ministers condemned last week’s test but said any action against North Korea had to be agreed at the United Nations, where Russia and China have the right of veto as permanent members of the Security Council. “We are against the carrying out of a nuclear test in North Korea,” Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told a joint news conference after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. “The U.N. Security Council should give an adequate response ... but the action should be directed towards peace on the Korean peninsula,” he said.

Lavrov said China and Russia had agreed that it was “vitally important not to ... allow the situation to be used as a pretext for military intervention.”