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.
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Story Quote: "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."
"They urged the relative countries to annul the installation as early as possible."
PacificSentinel: The very slim chance THAAD would be removed from South Korea has now gone for ever, the ICBM launch has ensured it will remain on the Korean Peninsula no mater what China and Russia want or think.