South Korea voices 'serious concerns' with Russia over military alignment with North Korea

Seoul, Sep 27 (IANS) South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has met his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and discussed security issues related to the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.

During the meeting held in New York the previous day (local time) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Cho briefed Lavrov on Seoul's North Korea policy aimed at easing tensions and building trust with North Korea to ultimately promote peace and stability on the peninsula, the ministry said in a statement.

Cho also voiced "serious concerns" over Russia's continued military cooperation with North Korea, calling for an end to it, the ministry said.

The ministry statement did not provide further details, but Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported that Lavrov, during the meeting, denounced the US and its Asian allies' military activities targeting North Korea.

Lavrov highlighted the "provocative" nature of the activities, as well as sanctions and pressure on the North, calling the return to a mutually respectful dialogue the only path to building a trustful mechanism to ensure peace in Northeast Asia, the report said, citing the Russian foreign ministry.

Cho also called for Russia's attention to protecting South Korean residents and stressed the importance of fostering a favourable environment for South Korean firms operating in the country, his ministry said.

Both ministers agreed to continue necessary communications in the future, Yonhap news agency reported.

The meeting marks the first formal bilateral talks between the two countries' top diplomats since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, although Lavrov held a brief meeting with then Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathering in Laos in July.

Last year, Former South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul had expressed concerns over growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, saying it could potentially help Pyongyang's ability to "threaten security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond."

Cho had made the remarks during a UN Security Council (UNSC) briefing on the Ukraine issue at UN headquarters in New York on the eve of the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

--IANS

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