South Korea threatens to toughen tone vis-à-vis Russia after Kim Jong-un's visit
In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol denounced Wednesday (September 20th) the rapprochement between Russia and North Korea, assuring that possible military aid would be a provocation to his country. Washington and its allies are talking about a possible delivery of North Korean weapons for the Russian war effort in Ukraine. Tensions between Seoul and Moscow had been high since the beginning of the war, but they have escalated to a new level.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during his speech to the UN General Assembly, in New York, September 20, 2023. AP - Richard Drew
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With our correspondent in Seoul, Nicolas Rocca
In a few days, the tone has hardened considerably between Seoul and Moscow. After the summoning of Russia's ambassador to South Korea on Tuesday, President Yoon Suk-yeol made an unambiguous speech from the podium of the United Nations:
« If North Korea obtains the information and technology it needs to build its weapons of mass destruction capabilities, in exchange for Russian conventional weapons, a military agreement between Russia and North Korea would be a direct provocation to the security and peace, not only of Ukraine, but also of the Republic of Korea. Korea and its allies will not stand idly by. »
An allusion to a possible change of position on Ukraine: Seoul participates in sanctions against Moscow, sells weapons to the NATO country and sends aid to Kiev, but refuses to deliver lethal weapons. This precaution is partly linked to good relations, especially economic, with Russia since the fall of the USSR.
Moscow's influence on North Korea was also a hope for improved inter-Korean relations, so the Kremlin should not be offended. But Yoon Suk-yeol is a proponent of total alignment with Washington, and the summit between North Korean President Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin has finished cooling relations.
This week, an adviser to the South Korean presidency assured that the country had already observed for "several months" "military transactions" between Moscow and Pyongyang.
" READ ALSO Possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un: "Russia is in dire need of alliances"
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