Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko visited Seoul, the South Korean Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday February 4, after bitter exchanges between the two countries regarding North Korea.
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Andrei Rudenko, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of Asia-Pacific, met his counterpart Chung Byung-won in Seoul on Friday February 2 for discussions on the war in Ukraine and bilateral affairs , indicated this February 4 the ministry South Korean in a press release. The South Korean official voiced Seoul’s criticism of growing military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang and urged Russia to have ” responsible actions ”, according to the press release.
“ Brazen policy of UNITED STATES »
His visit comes shortly after a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova that heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula was ” mainly due to the brazen policies of the United States and its allies, including the Republic of Korea and Japan “, referring to South Korea by its official name. Ms. Zakharova was responding to a question about South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s recent description of the North Korea as the only country in the world to have legislated on the preventive use of nuclear weapons.
In the same remarks, she also said that Seoul “ does not seem to realize that the dominant position of EUnited States is irrevocably becoming a thing of the past ”, and that the South “ could turn out to be just a small bargaining chip in Washington’s geopolitical games “. The South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Georgiy Zinoviev on Saturday to protest the remarks. rude and ignorant “.
Cruise missiles for Russia
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has forged closer ties with Pyongyang, which South Korea and Washington accuse of supplying weapons to Moscow to help the war effort. Nuclear-armed North Korea this year declared Seoul its “ main enemy ”, closed the agencies dedicated to reunification, and threatened war for “ even just 0.001 millimeter » of territorial infraction.
Analysts recently warned that North Korea could test cruise missiles before sending them to Russia for use against Ukraine. Its leader Kim Jong-un visited Russia in September to meet President Vladimir Putin, who in return is expected to visit Pyongyang.
(With AFP)
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