Russia, South Korea hold tense security talks in Seoul

- Moscow vows to continue developing cooperation with North Korea, despite Seoul's call to cease military ties

ANKARA

Russia and South Korea said on Sunday that they discussed regional security and other "pending issues" amid a chasm of differences between the two countries and escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

In a visit to Seoul, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko held talks with his South Korean counterpart Chung Byung-won on Friday and "addressed the Ukrainian war and bilateral ties," Yonhap News reported, citing a statement by South Korea's Foreign Ministry.

Chung expressed Seoul's "stern stance" on Russia's "growing military cooperation with North Korea" and called for Moscow's "responsible behavior," according to the South Korean news agency.

He also urged Moscow's cooperation to "prevent any infringement on the legitimate rights" of South Korean firms and citizens in Russia.

During his visit, Rudenko also held talks with South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Kim Gunn, as well as Kim Hong-kyun, the country's special envoy for peace and security affairs on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim called on Moscow to "strictly comply with its obligations to UN Security Council resolutions, including the immediate cessation of its military ties with Pyongyang that threatens the security of the Korean Peninsula and Europe."

In a separate statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow intends continue developing cooperation with North Korea "in the interests of both countries and their peoples, as well as strengthening peace and stability in the region."

It said that in Seoul, Rudenko exchanged views with officials about the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeastern Asia, as well as on bilateral relations, expressing Moscow's "serious concerns regarding the sharp escalation of tensions in the subregion."

"It was clearly stated that its main source is the irresponsible provocative policy of Washington, which, for its own geopolitical purposes, is trying to encourage regional allies to implement their aggressive plans, fraught with unpredictable consequences, including in the military sphere," it added.

The statement also said that to help calm the situation, the US and its allies should cease military activity and return to jointly searching for a political and diplomatic solution.

Rudenko's trip comes amid a diplomatic row following recent remarks on Pyongyang by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Last week, Yoon called North Korea an "irrational group and the only country in the world that has legalized the preemptive use of nuclear weapons."

Yoon's remarks were criticized by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova for being "blatantly biased."

In response, the South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned Russia's Ambassador to Seoul Georgy Zinoviev to lodge a protest over the spokesperson's remarks.

* Burc Eruygur contributed to this report from Istanbul