South Korea Hosts First Korea-EU Strategic Dialogue
Reuters: SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea and the European Union on Monday jointly condemned North Korea's supply of weaponry to Moscow and demanded that it withdraw troops it has sent as Russia wages war against Ukraine.
The EU and South Korea were holding their first "Strategic Dialogue" meeting in Seoul, shortly after Washington and Seoul sounded the alarm about North Korea sending soldiers to help Russia.
In a joint statement, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul condemned the North's "unlawful arms transfers to the Russian Federation for its use in attacking Ukraine".
They demanded an end to the "unlawful military cooperation" and a withdrawal of the North Korean forces.
Borrell also met South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
"Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an existential threat," Borrell said in a post on X that included a photo of him shaking hands with Kim. "The Republic of Korea is best positioned to understand it. We are united in our support to Ukraine. I encouraged them to step it up."
The two countries also signed a security and defence partnership covering 15 areas including cyber security and disarmament.
Cho said last week, when asked whether Seoul could send weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea aiding Russia, that all possible scenarios were under consideration,
South Korea has provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine, including mine clearance equipment, but rebuffed requests for weapons.
Seoul expects the North to be compensated by Moscow with military and civilian technology, as it races to launch a spy satellite and upgrade its missile capabilities.
North Korea last week flexed its military muscle with the test of a huge new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed Hwasong-19.
Washington expects the North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region, part of which has been seized by neighbouring Ukraine, to enter the fight against Ukrainian forces soon, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week.
At talks in Moscow on Friday, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said her country would back Russia until it achieved victory in Ukraine.
In World
-
Pyongyang went loud and proud on Monday about its plans for nuclear weapons as the United Nations grilled its representative over a recent missile launch.
-
Russia on Tuesday denounced Moldova's weekend election as unfair and said it did not see the winner, Maia Sandu, as the legitimate president of the country.
-
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Monday he had discussed with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock the "need for decisive action" in response to North Korean involvement in the war with Russia.
-
Russia launched a Soyuz rocket early on Tuesday carrying two satellites designed to monitor the space weather around Earth and 53 small satellites, including two Iranian ones, Russia's Roscosmos space agency said.
Leave a review