Media: North Korea gave a letter to Russia expressing its readiness to attack the US
RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing a source familiar with the situation, that in October, after arriving at the meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK passed a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin through the Russian Chairwoman of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko. In the latter the North Korean authorities expressed Pyongyang's readiness to carry out a nuclear strike against the United States.
"This letter was brought to the attention of the Americans, after which Washington's position towards the DPRK changed," the interlocutor of the agency said.
Dmitry Peskov, following the results of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, informed reporters that he did not know anything about the letter.
At the same time, the Presidential Press Secretary stressed that during the conversation in Da Nang, Putin and US President Donald Trump did not discuss the situation about North Korea in detail. Peskov also said that Putin regrets that there is no special cooperation on this issue yet.
"But Trump also has said today that he expects to continue the dialogue with Putin on North Korea. We hope that Russian-American contacts will be implemented somehow. It will be in the interest of both countries to do so," Peskov added.
Since the summer, the DPRK and the USA have exchanged tough statements. Pyongyang declared that they were ready to inflict an "unheard-of blow" at the "unexpected moment." Washington warned North Korea that it would launch a massive retaliatory strike.
According to the estimates of the US Congressional Research Service published at the end of October, in the first days of a conflict between the DPRK and South Korea, about 300,000 people may die without either side applying weapons of mass destruction. In general, the military conflict can affect 25 million people on both sides of the demarcation line, including 100,000 US citizens.
The beginning of the war on the Korean peninsula, according to the report’s authors, will lead to massive mobilization of American forces, their landing on the Korean peninsula and large military losses. The conflict may extend beyond the peninsula if China joins in, the researchers noted. In their opinion, Russia and Japan could become parties to the conflict.