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France urges dialogue with North Korea

NORTH KOREA MISSILES COULD HIT U.S., EUROPE ‘WITHIN MONTHS’ IN NUCLEAR STRIKE, FRANCE SAYS, NewsWeek, BY JOSH LOWE ON 9/1/17 North Korea could have the ability to strike the U.S. and Europe with nuclear weapons within months, France’s foreign minister has warned.

Jean-Yves le Drian, in charge of foreign affairs in President Emmanuel Macron’s government, said that following a string of missile tests by Pyongyang and increasingly bellicose rhetoric, “We see a North Korea whose objective is to have missiles capable of transporting a nuclear weapon tomorrow,” according to Agence France-Presse.

The situation, le Drian said, is “extremely serious.” He urged North Korea to open new dialogue with other states in an attempt to defuse tensions and prevent nuclear conflict…..

China and Russia have both urged calm from all sides and suggested that U.S. military drills in the region may be provoking North Korea. The two countries have proposed that diplomatic talks resume, while missile tests in North Korea and joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea both be put on pause.

The U.N. Security Council has denounced Pyongyang’s latest tests and called for an end to its missile program.

Macron has previously warned against an “escalation” of tensions between the rogue state and its opponents.

In a statement, Macron expressed “concern at the ballistic and nuclear threat coming from North Korea,” saying the international community had to try to get Pyongyang to “resume the path of dialogue without conditions.” http://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-missiles-strike-us-europe-france-months-658311

September 2, 2017 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, politics international