North Korea refuse to even entertain talks about scaling back their missile programme, a Russian delegation has revealed.
The Russian group issued the warning after returning from a trip to Pyongyang today.
The lawmakers said North Korea will not disarm and is fully prepared to resort to nuclear war.
Svetlana Maximova said: “They said they won’t disarm, there cannot even be any talk of that.”
Another member of the delegation said North Korea wants to “live normally” but would not flinch from all-out war.
Kazbek Taisayev said: “They do not want war, they want to live normally.
“But if there is a threat from the United States, then they are morally ready for that war.”
It comes after Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said a US threat to destroy North Korea in the event of a war was “a bloodthirsty tirade” and a “big mistake”.
Speaking on a visit to Rome, Mr Lavrov strongly condemned comments made by US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who earlier this week warned North Korea’s leadership it would be “utterly destroyed” if war were to break out.
He said: “If someone really wants to use force to, as the US representative to the United Nations put it, destroy North Korea, then I think that is playing with fire and a big mistake.”
Mr Lavrov called Ms Haley’s speech on North Korea, which she made at an emergency UN Security Council meeting, “a really bloodthirsty tirade.”
He said: “We will do everything to ensure war doesn’t happen so that the problem is decided only using peaceful and political-diplomatic means.”
READ MORE: Will North Korea attack the USA?
Earlier this week North Korea launched an ICBM thousands of miles into the atmosphere before sending it crashing down into the Sea of Japan.
US officials warned the missile was capable of reaching the US mainland, with nations across the globe condeming Kim Jong-un’s hemit state.
In response, US President Donald Trump said he “will handle” the situation, before mocking Kim as “little rocket man” during a speech about tax reform.