The Russian government has disagreed with the request of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to choose between North and South Korea.
On the 8th (local time), Russian media outlets including TASS reported that in response to Yoon’s comments in an interview with a foreign news outlet and urging Russia to “decide which of North or South Korea is more important and necessary,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “We oppose this approach. We do not agree with this approach at all.”
Peskov further emphasized, “We support building good relations with all countries in the region, both North and South Korea.”
He added, “We have partners in Pyongyang and a country that has joined anti-Russian sanctions in Seoul. It’s hard to understand what Yoon means.”
Peskov reiterated, “We support building good relations with all countries,” and questioned, “How can we build good relations with countries that take a hostile position towards us?”
The day before, in a written interview with Reuters ahead of his attendance at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington D.C., Yoon stated, “North Korea is a nuisance to the international community. Russia should eventually decide which Korea is more important and necessary.”
In the interview, Yoon said, “The fate of South Korea-Russia relations depends entirely on Russia’s attitude.” Yoon continued to state that the specific support for Ukraine, including arms trade, military technology transfer, and strategic material support, will be determined by monitoring the level and content of cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
The South Korea-Russia relationship has become more strained since Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea on the 19th of last month and signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement akin to a military alliance with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Since Russia launched a special military operation invading Ukraine in February 2022, South Korea has joined Western sanctions against Russia, while North Korea has strengthened its close comprehensive ties with Russia including military affairs. This has worsened the relationship between South Korea and Russia.
When North Korea and Russia signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, the South Korean government expressed concern and warned that it may reconsider arms support for Ukraine.
