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Putin’s ‘destabilising’ North Korea trip unnerves Seoul with ‘existential threats’
- Russia’s president is heading to Pyongyang for a ‘friendly’ two-day visit from Tuesday, state media said, followed by Vietnam
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South Korea has issued a stern warning to Russia against helping the North’s military ambitions as President Vladimir Putin’s coming visit to Pyongyang signals a major shift in regional power dynamics that analysts say could be “very destabilising”.
Putin will be in North Korea for a “friendly state visit” from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Kremlin and North Korean media reported on Monday.
He will then travel to Vietnam from Wednesday to Thursday to advance the “comprehensive strategic partnership” between Moscow and Hanoi, the Kremlin and Vietnamese state media said.
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South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Seoul had conveyed a “warning message” to Moscow that “negotiations with the North should not be conducted in a way that undermines peace and stability on the Korean peninsula”.
Seoul will “take necessary countermeasures depending on the outcome” of Putin’s visit, Cho said on Sunday, amid speculation that Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could discuss military cooperation.
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The countries’ closer ties were being driven by need in the wake of the war in Ukraine and mounting geopolitical risks, Cho said.
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