According to his aides, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol aims to highlight the “illicit, dangerous” military negotiations between North Korea and Russia at the United Nations on Wednesday. This comes after the two countries met for an extremely uncommon summit the previous week.
Yoon was scheduled to deliver a speech to the annual United Nations General Assembly on Monday after landing in New York. His arrival coincided with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s return from a week-long trip to Russia, during which he and President Vladimir Putin pledged to increase their military cooperation. Yoon’s address was scheduled for soon after Kim Jong Un’s return.
Both Seoul and Washington have indicated their fear that Russia may be attempting to obtain ammunition from the North to shore up its dwindling stockpile due to its invasion of Ukraine, while Pyongyang is attempting to secure technological assistance for its nuclear and missile programs.
According to a presidential official, Yoon plans to use his words to warn against any military commerce between Moscow and Pyongyang and encourage South Korea’s efforts to assist Ukraine in its struggle against Russia’s aggression.
“He is expected to call the attention of the international community to the illicit and dangerous nature of military transactions between Russia and North Korea, and urge a united response from the international community,” the official told reporters. “He is expected to call the attention of the international community to the illicit and dangerous nature of military transactions between Russia and North Korea.”
U.N. Security Council resolutions make it illegal for any country or organization to assist North Korea in its efforts to develop or produce weapons, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that his country will “never violate anything.”
The official, however, dismissed Moscow’s assertion and stated that South Korea has been “watching military transactions take place for several months prior to the summit” between Kim and Putin.
According to the official, it is unlikely that the United Nations would pass any new resolutions; nevertheless, conversations are now taking place with the United States and other nations to impose additional sanctions on Russia and North Korea.
“The Security Council is divided, as you know, and it is impossible to draw up a unified position on Russia there, so for the time being there could be cohesive action within the solidarity of freedom, centering around allies and friends,” the official stated.
On Tuesday, Chang Ho-jin, South Korea’s vice foreign minister, called on Russia’s ambassador to warn Russia against entering into any future arms sales with North Korea, citing “clear consequences.”
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