North Korean-Russian ties pose ‘serious threat’: Japanese, South Korean leaders

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Growing ties between North Korea and Russia pose a “serious threat,” warned the leaders of Japan and South Korea.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed the issue during a meeting in Washington on Wednesday on the sidelines of a NATO summit, attending as two of the alliance’s partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

The security challenges facing Asia and Europe are “increasingly indivisible,” the two leaders said, according to Tokyo-based Kyodo News.

Seoul and Tokyo’s concerns follow last month’s signing of a comprehensive partnership treaty between Pyongyang and Moscow during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to North Korea.

North Korea’s strengthening of military and economic cooperation with Russia is “causing serious concerns for global security, not to mention East Asia,” Yoon told Kishida.

“In light of the current international situation, it is highly significant that the leaders of Japan and South Korea share a solid relationship of trust and recognition of strategic issues, and hold discussions and cooperate closely with each other," Kishida told Yoon.

- 'Seriously concerned'

Under the treaty, Moscow and Pyongyang pledged to extend military support to each other in case of aggression by a third party.

According to a statement by Japan’s Foreign Ministry, Kishida stressed that Tokyo is “seriously concerned” about the outcome of the summit between Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “in terms of its impact on the regional security surrounding Japan.”

Yoon and Kishida “concurred on the necessity to continue to coordinate closely among Japan, the US, and the ROK (South Korea) under the Spirit of Camp David,” the statement said.

They added that Seoul and Tokyo will "strengthen cooperation" with their NATO and Indo-Pacific partners, in view of regional issues "becoming more complex and having wider implications."

Last year the two leaders held a trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden at Camp David.

Besides Tokyo and Seoul, Australia and New Zealand were also invited to the current NATO summit in Washington, which marks the alliance’s 75th anniversary