South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, who attended the East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Jakarta, Indonesia, said that the responsibility of the permanent member of the UN Security Council is heavier in complying with sanctions against North Korea. He seems to be targeting Russia, which is strengthening military cooperation with North Korea, and China, which is lukewarm in implementing sanctions. Reporter Kim Hwan-yong reports from Seoul.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol attended the East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Jakarta, Indonesia on the 7th and said that North Korea’s nuclear and missile development is “an existential threat that can target and strike all countries present at the meeting,” the presidential office said.
President Yoon emphasized, “We must clearly show that the international community’s determination to stop North Korea’s nuclear development is much stronger than the will to develop nuclear weapons.”
In particular, President Yoon pointed out that “North Korea is under the strictest and most comprehensive sanctions from the UN Security Council, and all UN member states must abide by the sanctions resolution.” .
It is interpreted as a remark aimed at China and Russia, which have participated in sanctions against North Korea as permanent members of the Security Council, but are passive in implementing sanctions and are blocking additional sanctions by exercising their veto power.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Li Chang and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov from China and Russia, respectively, and watched President Yoon’s remarks.
In particular, it is interpreted as sending a message of pressure to Russia, which is known to be coordinating a summit meeting to discuss arms deals with North Korea.
At an ASEAN-related summit on the previous day, on the 6th, President Yoon said, “Attempts to cooperate with North Korea that undermine peace in the international community must be stopped immediately.” No,” he pointed out.
Moon Seong-mook is the director of the Unification Strategy Center at the Korea Institute for National Strategy, a private research institute.
[녹취: 문성묵 센터장] “North Korea, China, and Russia solidarity is being strengthened in response to cooperation between Korea, the US, and Japan, and it is judged that this is a willingness to check and block illegal North Korea, China, and Russia alliances and to gather a unified opinion from the international community.”
EAS is a cooperative body that discusses major security issues in the region, and includes 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as the United States, Korea, Japan, China, Russia, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, the South Korean National Intelligence Service predicted that the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin would take place during the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held in Vladivostok, Russia’s Far East, from the 10th to the 13th.
It also said that when Chairman Kim visits Russia for the summit, there is a possibility that he will take a different route from the previously known route.
Rep. Yoo Sang-beom, secretary of the People’s Power of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, said after a closed meeting of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee attended by NIS Director Kim Kyu-hyun on the 7th, “As the expected route was disclosed to the New York Times (NYT), Chairman Kim took a ‘surprising’ path different from the previous one. There is a possibility of ‘moving’, said an official from the National Intelligence Service.”
The New York Times reported on the 4th, citing a US government official, that Kim is considering a visit to Russia this month, and is expected to meet President Putin after traveling to Vladivostok by armored train.
A Russian government official also told Japan’s NHK on the 6th that North Korea and Russia are coordinating for a summit, and that the Far Eastern Federal University on an island off the coast of Vladivostok is also under consideration.
NIS director Kim Kyu-hyun reported at a closed-door meeting of the intelligence committee, “Whether or not the North Korea-Russia summit will have a significant impact on the international situation, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, so we are monitoring the situation while closely exchanging information with the intelligence agencies of each country.”
In the midst of this, North Korea’s foreign official ‘Chosun Central News Agency’ announced that at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the government, a Chinese party and government delegation headed by Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will visit North Korea to attend the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the North Korean regime on September 9. Reported on the 7th.
The Chinese delegation is expected to attend a military parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of September 9th.
Five years ago, during the 70th anniversary event, a Chinese delegation headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s special representative, Li Zhansu, then third-ranking Communist Party leader, and chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, visited North Korea.
An official from the South Korean Ministry of Unification said, “Considering that Ri Jan-soo, a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, visited North Korea five years ago as the head, the delegation was selected at a lower level.”
This official explained, “The delegation may have been formed out of concern about the possibility that cooperation between the US and Japan will be strengthened and pressure from the public will increase due to the close relationship between North Korea and Russia.”
Dr. Hong Min Hong of the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-run research institute under the South Korean government, assessed that China had organized a face-saving delegation to North Korea, saying that China is showing an attitude not to overstimulate the US in the process of rapid military closeness between North Korea and Russia. I solved it.
Dr. Hong said that from China’s point of view, strengthening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is beneficial for its own security front against the United States, so it is a calculation that will not stop it nor actively participate, but will watch the future actions of the United States.
[녹취: 홍민 박사] “It is a great practical benefit to China that North Korea and Russia have military cooperation like that, and if they even do joint training, and this close. That’s why you can take advantage of those benefits even in the quiet. There is no need to act as if it is provocative, so it is seen that it is rather taking an attitude of taking care of practical benefits in the midst of silence.”
According to the Ministry of Unification, Vice Premier Liu Guozhong served as party secretary in Shaanxi, the hometown of President Xi Jinping, and was quickly promoted to vice premier of the State Council in a short period of time.
It is known that he has a high understanding of North Korean issues as a bureaucrat in charge of the current economic field and a native of Jilin Province, which is the core of North Korea-China trade.
An official from the Ministry of Unification said, “Given Liu’s background, North Korea seems to have focused on economic cooperation with China while seeking military cooperation with Russia.” It was analyzed that the schedule for visiting North Korea seems to have been decided.
Lee Sang-sook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy under the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said North Korea and China appear to have made a pragmatic choice rather than an outward display of solidarity.
[녹취: 이상숙 교수] “In a situation where security cooperation between North Korea and Russia is strengthening, China is not active in security cooperation between North Korea, China, and Russia, so I think it is an extension of that message again this time. China will focus on economic cooperation rather than security cooperation with North Korea, and I think Vice Premier Liu Guozhong is visiting North Korea this time along that line.”
Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, disclosed the policy of dispatching a delegation to the September 9th through its website.
Spokesperson Ma also said in a regular briefing regarding the possibility of North Korea-Russia arms trade, “The arms trade issue is clearly a matter related to Russia-North Korea relations,” and said, “I cannot answer hypothetical questions about things that have not yet happened.”
Also, regarding the possibility of joint military exercises between North Korea, China, and Russia, he replied, “I don’t know about the joint military exercises between North Korea, China, and Russia.”
This is VOA News Kim Hwan-yong from Seoul.
2023-09-07 16:40:00
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