Seul, South Korea – Russia’s Foreign Minister warned the United States on Saturday, South Korea and Japan not forming a security association addressed to North Korea while visiting their country’s ally for conversations to further solidify their military and other cooperation.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew to the city of Wonsan del Este de Norte on Friday for a meeting with his North Koean counterpart are Hui.
Relations between Russia and North Korea have flourished in recent years, and North Korea supplies troops and ammunition to support Russia’s war against Ukraine in exchange for military and economic assistance. That has expressed concerns between South Korea, the United States and others that Russia could also be transferred to North Korea sensitive technologies that can increase the danger of their nuclear and missile programs.
After a meeting with Choe on Saturday, Lavrov accused the United States, South Korea and Japan of what he called his military accumulations around North Korea.
“We warn against the exploitation of these ties to build alliances directed against anyone, including North Korea and, of course, Russia,” he told reporters, according to the State News Agency of Russia.
The United States, South Korea and Japan have been expanding or restoring their trilateral military exercises in response to the North Korean advanced nuclear program. On Friday, the three countries celebrated a joint aerial drill that involves bombers with American nuclear capacity near the Korean Peninsula, since their senior military officers gathered in Seoul and urged North Korea to cease all illegal activities that threaten regional security.
North Korea sees the main military exercises led by the United States as invasion trials. For a long time he argued that he is forced to develop nuclear weapons to defend against US military threats.
Lavrov said that Russia understands the decision of North Korea of looking for nuclear weapons.
“The technologies used by North Korea are the result of the work of their own scientists. We respect the aspirations of North Korea and understand the reasons why it is looking for nuclear development,” said Lavrov.
During his meeting, Choe reiterated that North Korea “unconditionally” supports Russia’s struggle against Ukraine. She described the ties between North Korea and Russia as “the invincible alliance.”
Lavrov said he repeated Russia’s gratitude for the contribution that North Korean troops made in the efforts to repel a Ukrainian incursion in the border region of Kursk in Russia.
Wonsan City, the place of the meeting, is where North Korea recently opened a gigantic beach resort that, he says, can accommodate almost 20,000 people.
In his comments at the beginning of his meeting with Choe, Lavrov said that “I am sure that Russian tourists will be increasingly anxious to come here. We will do our best to facilitate this, creating conditions for this, including air trip,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The tourist area of Wonsan-Kalma is in the center of the leader of the North Korean leader Kim Jong a to boost tourism as a way to improve the problematic economy of his country. But the prospects for the largest tourist complex in North Korea are not clear, since it seems unlikely that the country completely reopened its borders and embrace Western tourists in the short term.
