21 September, Seoul, South Korea (ANI): President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea said on Wednesday that his nation and its allies “will not stand idly” in the event that Russia aids North Korea in enhancing its arsenal of nuclear and conventional weapons. This comes just after the two nuclear-armed countries’ presidents met in front of a large audience, according to CNN.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, visited Russia last week to meet with Vladimir Putin. Prior to the meeting, US officials issued a warning that the two leaders would reach an agreement that would allow Pyongyang, which is under international sanctions, to obtain critical Russian technology as well as weapons that Moscow might employ in its ongoing conflict against Ukraine.
That has frightened South Korea, an ally of the US by treaty.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Yoon said: “We can discourage any illegal provocation by joining in unshakeable solidarity and firmly sticking to our ideals. While military strength may differ across nations.
He also demanded that the UN Security Council, of which Russia is a member, be reformed, claiming that this action “would receive broad support” if Moscow did provide Pyongyang intelligence in return for weapons.
According to CNN, Yoon added, “It is absurd that a permanent member of the UN Security Council, entrusted as the ultimate defender of international peace, would conduct war by invading another sovereign country and acquire guns and ammunition from a dictatorship that brazenly breaches UN Security Council decisions.
If North Korea “acquires the information and technology necessary to enhance its (weapons of mass destruction) capabilities in exchange for supporting Russia with conventional weapons, the deal will be a direct provocation, threatening the peace and security of not only Ukraine but also the Republic of Korea,” the president added.
It was Kim’s first travel abroad after the coronavirus outbreak when he went to meet Putin. The two leaders spoke for five hours during their meeting, having “very substantive” conversations, according to the Kremlin.
However, nothing is known about what occurred behind closed doors since, according to CNN, the parties did not hold a news conference, publish a communiqué, or make any accords known in public.
The two presidents did not sign any agreements while they were in conversation, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
However, the talks hinted at tighter ties between the two nations, who are both isolated internationally due to different reasons—North Korea for its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes and Russia for its invasion of the Ukraine.
According to CNN, as North Korea intensifies its weapons testing programme in an effort to further its nuclear goals, Moscow is in serious need of new ammunition supply. (ANI)
