Australia’s foreign minister has said a recent defence agreement between North Korea and Russia is destabilising and “dangerous to the world”.
SEOUL, South Korea — Australia’s foreign minister said Tuesday after visiting a tense border village between North and South Korea that a recent defense pact between North Korea and Russia is “destabilizing” and “dangerous to the world.”
In June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact to provide each other with military assistance if either country was attacked, deepening concerns about the escalating ties between the two countries. The United States and its allies have firmly accused North Korea of supplying Russia with badly needed conventional weapons for the Ukraine war in return for military and economic aid.
“I also want to comment on the security arrangements between North Korea and Russia. Again, this is destabilizing. It is a risk to the world and we reiterate that Russia is taking actions that do not lead to peace but rather escalate tensions,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters after a visit to the southern Korean border at Panmunjom.
Won condemned North Korea’s prolonged missile tests as a threat to regional security. “We share great concern about North Korea’s escalating reactions and destabilizing actions,” he said, referring to North Korea by its official acronym, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Won also met South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-ryol in Seoul on Tuesday and agreed to cooperate with the international community to address military ties between North Korea and Russia, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry. Won also met with South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol and exchanged views on ways to improve bilateral ties, Yun’s office said in a statement.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen in recent months as North Korea has launched garbage-filled balloons into South Korea and continued weapons tests, prompting South Korea to respond by broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda and resuming live-fire drills in the border area.
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Associated Press videojournalist Kim Young-ho contributed to this report from Paju, South Korea.