‘Bloodthirsty tirade’: Russian FM decries US threats to destroy North Korea

US military action against North Korea would be a big mistake, Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, warned, adding that Washington is itself provoking Pyongyang to make new reckless moves by drills with South Korea and aggressive rhetoric.

“If someone really wants to use force to – as the US representative to the UN put it – destroy North Korea... then I think it’s playing with fire and a huge mistake,” Lavrov said during a visit to Rome on Friday.

The Russian FM was referring to the comments made by US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, in the wake of Pyongyang’s first missile test in two months on Tuesday, in which it fired rockets that allegedly can reach US mainland. Haley said that “if war comes… the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed.” Lavrov called Haley’s speech at the UN Security Council on Wednesday “a really bloodthirsty tirade.”

“We will do everything to ensure that it [military conflict] doesn't happen and that the problem is solved using exclusively peaceful and political-diplomatic means,” he said. Moscow has been closely working with the US on the North Korean issue, with several meetings being held between the countries’ diplomats in the Russian capital and other venues, the FM added.
 rt.com
 1/12/17