North Korea needs 'security guarantees' in exchange for denuclearization – Putin

FIRST MEETING. Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un prior to their talks at the Far Eastern Federal University campus on Russky island in the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok on April 25, 2019. Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/AFP

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, April 25, that North Korea needs security guarantees and that denuclearization could only be achieved through international law.

North Korea "needs guarantees of its security, the preservation of its sovereignty," Putin said after talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"We need to restore the power of international law, to return to a state where international law, not the law of the strongest, determines the situation in the world."

Putin said he would discuss his talks with Kim with Washington.

"There are no secrets here, no conspiracies... Chairman Kim himself asked us to inform the American side of our position," Putin said.

He said Russia's interests coincide with those of Washington in that both countries are for "complete denuclearization."

"As far as reducing the threat of nuclear conflicts is concerned, this is certainly a common priority," he said.

"I was given the impression that the North Korean leader shares the same point of view. And we need guarantees of security, that's all. We need to think about this all together." – Rappler.com