By The Straits Times | Created at 2024-10-29 22:23:00 | Updated at 2024-10-30 07:31:17
1 day ago
Updated
Oct 29, 2024, 05:42 PM
Published
Oct 29, 2024, 06:09 AM
SEOUL – North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui is on her way to Moscow, state news agency KCNA and Russian officials said on Oct 29, for her second trip to Russia in six weeks amid rising concerns about Pyongyang’s involvement in Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
KCNA said a delegation led by Ms Choe left on Oct 28 for an official visit to Russia, without elaborating further.
Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora saw off Ms Choe at the airport, the Russian Embassy said in a statement posted on its Vkontakte social media page.
“The visit of the head of the DPRK Foreign Ministry to the Russian Federation is taking place within the framework of a strategic dialogue – following an agreement to enhance ties reached by the leaders of our countries during the June 2024 summit,” the statement said, referring to the North by its formal name – the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
During a televised Cabinet meeting, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said “illegal” military cooperation between Russia and North Korea posed a serious threat to the international community.
“I want everyone to be on alert about risk management,” Mr Yoon told the meeting.
Ms Choe’s visit comes as Nato joined Seoul, Washington and Kyiv in confirming Pyongyang’s dispatch of troops to Russia, saying North Korean military units had been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region near the Ukraine border.
The Pentagon said on Oct 23 that Washington will not impose new limits on Kyiv’s use of American weapons if North Korea enters the fight.
It also said that North Korea has sent 10,000 troops to eastern Russia for training, up from its estimate of 3,000 on Oct 23.
US President Joe Biden called the situation “very dangerous”.
Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, after a meeting on Oct 28 with a South Korean delegation, said the deepening military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang posed a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security.
Mr Yoon, in a phone call with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, said the deployment of North Korean troops to the front lines of the war in Ukraine may come sooner than expected.
Since the meeting of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s far east in 2023, Pyongyang and Moscow have upgraded their military ties.
They met again in June to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership that includes a mutual defence pact. REUTERS
