Rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula cast a shadow over the April 27 summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders agreed that North Korea must abide by United Nations Security Council resolutions on its nuclear and missile programs, and that pressure should be brought to bear on the regime not to do anything provocative. However, at the joint news conference following the summit, Putin told reporters, "It's necessary to continue dialogue and avoid surrendering to rhetoric. It's also necessary to restart the six-party talks" on North Korea's nuclear program, throwing cold water on Japanese-U.S. military pressure on the regime of Kim Jong Un.
In the Russian view, it is the United States that is pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of disaster. In his talks with Abe, Putin is thought to have called on Japan to pressure its ally Washington to show restraint.
The Japanese government, meanwhile, is looking to implement a two-pronged approach to the North Korean missile and nuclear program problem: asking China and Russia to use their pull in Pyongyang at the same time as allies Japan, the U.S. and South Korea apply pressure. On April 25, the Japanese, U.S. and South Korean delegates to the currently suspended six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons development met in Tokyo and agreed to call on Russia to put pressure on the Kim regime.
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