SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The Latest on the tensions on the Korean Peninsula (all times local):
6:20 p.m.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that any new sanctions against North Korea would be “dangerous.”
Lavrov and Tillerson spoke by phone late Wednesday, several hours after President Donald Trump said on Twitter that “talking is not the answer” when it comes to dealing with North Korea.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a read-out of the call that both Lavrov and Tillerson condemned North Korea for firing a midrange ballistic missile Japan earlier this week and called for dialogue.
Lavrov told Tillerson that Russia urges all parties to avoid a military solution to the crisis and added that Moscow views any new potential sanctions against North Korea as “counterproductive and dangerous.”
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6:10 p.m.
China’s Defense Ministry says war is not an option in finding a solution to North Korea’s growing nuclear capabilities.
Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Ren Guoqiang told reporters Thursday that all parties should exercise restraint and avoid words and actions that escalate tension.
This came a day after President Donald Trump declared that “talking is not the answer” on North Korea. On Thursday, the U.S. flew some of its most advanced warplanes in bombing drills with ally South Korea- responses to Pyongyang’s test launch of a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday.
Ren said it’s China’s position that “military means cannot be an option for resolving this issue.”
On Wednesday, Trump tweeted: “The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!”
The statement raised fresh uncertainty about the Trump administration’s strategy for North Korea.
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