(Reuters) - Moscow does not violate United Nations sanctions against North Korea, but is categorically against new restrictive measures on Pyongyang, a high-ranking Russian diplomat told the RIA state news agency in remarks published on Sunday.
"Russia, as a responsible member of the world community, strictly adheres to its international obligations towards Pyongyang through the UN Security Council," Russian Ambassador at Large Oleg Burmistrov told RIA in an interview.
The White House on Friday said North Korea recently provided Russia with a shipment of weapons, calling it a troubling development and raising concerns about the expanded military relationship between the two countries.
North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs since 2006.
Burmistrov told RIA that the risk of a nuclear conflict on the Korean Peninsula have grown sharply, partially as a result of Washington's actions.
Persons:
Oleg Burmistrov, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, denuclearization, Burmistrov, Lidia Kelly, Guy Faulconbridge
Organizations:
Reuters, Nations, North, UN Security Council
Locations:
Moscow, North Korea, Pyongyang, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Korea, China, Korean, United States, Melbourne