North Korea has blown up two roads connecting the North with the South, after Kim Jong-un announced the end of all references to reunification. Both Russia and China have responded with concern.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning said: “As a neighboring country of the [Korean] peninsula, China is concerned about the development of the situation and tendencies in North Korea-South Korea relations. Tensions on the peninsula do not serve common interests. The key priority is to avoid further escalation of conflicts.”
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova commented on the U.S. State Department’s appeal to North Korea to stop actions that increase the risk of conflict on the Korean peninsula: “A classic American trick: Provoke an escalation of the situation and then blame everything on those whom they forced to act against their will. The only country that indeed increases the risk of conflict on the Korean peninsula, and the Asia-Pacific as a whole, is the U.S.. They can’t wait to see how things flare up there as well.” At the same time, Zakharova emphasized that South Korea and Japan, whom she described as “critical security points in the region” are under U.S. pressure and “lack [political] will to shake off the yoke of U.S. manipulations.”
