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Russia, China oppose sanctions against N.Korea - FM Lavrov

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Russia and China oppose UN sanctions against North Korea, the Russian foreign minister said Friday.
MOSCOW, October 13, (RIA Novosti) - Russia and China oppose UN sanctions against North Korea, the Russian foreign minister said Friday.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote Saturday on a resolution to impose sanctions on the secretive communist state, which claimed Monday to have carried out a nuclear weapons test. In response to concerns from North Korea's neighbors, China and Russia, the United States has ruled out military force against the country, but continues to press for sanctions.

Sergei Lavrov said, "We have a common position with China on the need to follow a balanced approach, to retain a sense of proportion, and not to resort to extremes such as sanctions. We need a window of opportunity to resume the six-nation talks."

The minister said it was necessary to condemn what he termed as provocative challenge by Pyongyang, and to ensure that any supplies of WMD-related materials and equipment to the country be stopped completely.

China insists that measures being taken against North Korea must not be overly tough, but should aim to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and ensure stability and security in northeast Asia. The two countries called earlier Friday for a resumption of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program as soon as possible.

However, Japan has joined the United States in calling for tough UN sanctions against the impoverished Communist state.

North Korea, South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the United States have been engaged in talks on the nuclear issue since 2003 when North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

North Korea announced it had developed nuclear weapons in February 2005. Negotiators proposed aid and security guarantees for the secretive regime in exchange for a renunciation of its nuclear program.

But the six-nation talks stalled last November over Pyongyang's demands that the U.S. lift sanctions imposed on it for its alleged involvement in counterfeiting and other illegal activities.

Liu Jianchao, the official spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said Thursday that China was seeking good neighborly relations with North Korea, and that it would not cut off economic assistance to Pyongyang. "China's economic assistance to North Korea is improving the living standards of its people," Jianchao said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that diplomacy should be the only way for the international community to dissuade North Korea from further nuclear tests.

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