MOSCOW, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, said here Tuesday that the two nations are gravely concerned about Pyongyang's latest launch of a ballistic missile, urging dialogue and the China-proposed dual-track approach to cool down the current confrontations on the Korean Peninsula.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced earlier Tuesday that it has launched a ballistic missile.
Noting that the firing is "unacceptable," Wang and Lavrov said in a joint statement that the move gravely violated relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
They urged the DPRK in strong terms to strictly abide by the aforementioned resolutions, saying the international community should take collective measures to settle the current crisis peacefully instead of pushing it to armed conflicts.
To prove their readiness for unconditional dialogue, the countries concerned should exert restraint rather than make provocations, said the two diplomats.
China and Russia suggested the Beijing-proposed dual-track approach of advancing denuclearization and establishing a peace mechanism in parallel.
Meanwhile, they also supported a suspension-for-suspension proposal that requires Pyongyang to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the suspension of large-scale U.S.-South Korean military exercises.
China and Russia encouraged simultaneous negotiations among rival parties to map out general principles of their relations, including the non-use of force, non-aggression, peaceful coexistence, and the willingness to solve the Peninsula issues once and for all.
In this process, all parties concerned should be committed to establishing a regional peace and security mechanism that is acceptable for all, so as to achieve the normalization of relations between the countries concerned.
The UN Security Council resolutions should be fully implemented, said the two ministers, explaining that the DPRK's reasonable concerns should be respected, and other countries should make efforts to make the resumption of dialogues possible.
Military means should not become an option, said the two diplomats, adding that the two sides on the Peninsula should conduct dialogue and extend good will to improve bilateral relations.
Wang and Lavrov also pointed out that the alliance between the counties concerned should not jeopardize the interests of a third party, adding that any outsider should not increase its military deployment and presence in Northeast Asia under the excuse of opposing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile plans.
The two diplomats also reiterated their opposition of the installation of the U.S.-developed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.
The system gravely harms the strategic security interests of China, Russia and other countries in the region, and will be unconducive to reach Peninsula denuclearization and regional peace and stability, said the two foreign ministers.
They urged the relative countries to annul the installation as early as possible.
The Peninsula situation is closely related to the national interests of China and Russia, both neighbors of the Peninsula, said Wang and Lavrov, vowing to keep close coordination to solve the Peninsula issues and achieve lasting peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
