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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, seen here, warned that the redeployment of US nuclear weapons to South Korea would have “unpleasant consequences.” (AP/Yonhap)

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs openly warned Monday of “unpleasant consequences” to follow if the US redeploys nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula, according to a report by the TASS news agency.

The agency explained that the ministry posted the message to its webpage the same day in its response to questions posed ahead of a briefing on Russia’s foreign relations situation in 2022.

In the response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted as saying that Russia was watching with “concern and dismay” amid signs of a breakdown in the inter-Korean military agreement of September 2018, in which the two sides agreed to halt all hostile military activities. He also remarked on indications of the possibility that the US could redeploy nuclear weapons in South Korea if the antagonisms intensify.

“Particularly unpleasant consequences would follow should US nuclear weapons return to the South of the Korean Peninsula,” he said, adding that the “possibility has begun to be openly discussed in the Republic of Korea.”

“Such a development would inevitably have to be taken into account in Russia’s defense planning. And, I think, China’s too,” he continued.

At the same time, Lavrov expressed hope that the situation would not deteriorate to a dangerous degree and stressed that he looked forward to all parties recognizing that there is no alternative to resolving Korean Peninsula issues through political and diplomatic means.

Emphasizing the need to reach a compromise to create a system of peace and collective security in Northeast Asia, he said multilateral discussions on Korean Peninsula issues could only be resumed once such an agreement has been reached.

He went on to say that Russia was prepared to take part in that process.

By Shin Gi-sub, senior staff writer

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