Russia's Ambassador to Seoul, Georgy Zinoviev, was summoned to the South Korean Foreign Ministry on June 21 to protest a defense deal signed earlier this week by Russian President Vladimir Putin with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Putin and Kim signed a "comprehensive strategic partnership" on June 19 during the Russian president's first visit in 24 years to the secretive Stalinist state, South Korea's archfoe.
Though full details of the deal are not known, the agreement calls for mutual assistance in the event of an attack by a third country and is intended to take cooperation between the two states to a new level.
First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun delivered Seoul's position on the pact and military cooperation between Russia and North Korea to Zinoviev, the Foreign Ministry said.
Kim urged Russia to "act responsibly," telling Zinoviev that Moscow's pledge of military aid for the North endangers Seoul's security.
He told Zinoviev that the move would have "negative impact" on relations between Russia and South Korea, the ministry said, adding that the Russian diplomat had promised to convey Seoul's message to Moscow.
In response, Zinoviev "emphasized that threats and attempts to intimidate the Russian Federation are unacceptable. The ambassador said that cooperation between Russia and North Korea is not aimed at third countries," the Russian Embassy in Seoul said in a post on X.
Putin has said Russia does not rule out military and technical cooperation with Pyongyang, or supplying it with weapons, moves that would violate UN sanctions against North Korea.
The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has condemned the deal as a threat to national security in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Seoul also said that, in response, it would consider sending weapons to Ukraine, which Putin said would be a "big mistake."
The White House said the North Korea-Russia pact is unsurprising and a sign of Russia's desperation.
In a phone call on June 20 with South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the deal and said that Washington supports Seoul's responses to the security threat prompted by the treaty, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said in a statement.
By RFE/RL
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Comments
Moreover, South Korea is considering at the instigation of the United States or under pressure from it supplying weapons to Ukraine which can only be interpreted as joining the US-led NATO's war efforts against Russia.
If South Korea does supply Ukraine with weapons, Russia could persuade North Korea to up the ante by allowing China an access through its territory to the Sea of Japan or alternatively testing a new missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Global Energy Expert