TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – United States Minister of Foreign Affairs Antony Blinken said on Thursday, November 9, 2023, that he shares South Korea’s concerns regarding increased military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, which he called a “two-way street” involving the flow of weapons and technical support.
Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin also said they discussed a so-called expanded deterrence strategy in countering threats from North Korea, meaning the use of US military assets including its nuclear forces for protection against attack, and increasing cooperation with Japan.
“We have real concerns about any support for the program ballistic missile North Korea, to its nuclear technology, to its space launch capacity,” Blinken said at a news conference in the South Korean capital. “We work to… identify, uncover, and where necessary to counter these efforts.”
Blinken’s two-day visit to South Korea was his first in two and a half years and was part of a broader Asia trip that included a visit to Japan and included a stop in India.
He comes to Asia from the Middle East, where the conflict in Gaza and the war in Ukraine overshadow Washington’s efforts to focus on the Indo-Pacific region.
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North Korean weapons reportedly used in Gazaand the United States and its allies condemned what they said was a flow of weapons and military equipment from North Korea to Russia for use in Ukraine.
North Korea and Russia have denied any arms deal although their leaders promised closer military cooperation when they met in September in Russia’s far east.
Blinken said North Korea supplies military equipment to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine, while Russia in turn provides technical support to help North Korea achieve military progress.
“This is a real concern for the security of the Korean Peninsula, a real concern for the global non-proliferation regime, a real concern for Russian aggression in Ukraine, and a real concern for violations of various UN Security Council resolutions,” he said.
He said the United States and its two East Asian allies were increasing cooperation in confronting North Korea, which has developed nuclear weapons and missiles in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.
Park said China had a constructive role to play in dealing with tensions created by relations between North Korea and Russia, and described it as not being in Beijing’s interests.
Blinken’s brief stay in Seoul shows the US’s commitment to the Korean peninsula and regional issues, and that the allies are implementing agreements made in previous presidential summits, despite pressing conflicts elsewhere, said Duyeon Kim, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security.
“Still, it is important for the US to maintain attention at all levels of government because North Korea and even China will think that they now have more room to maneuver,” he said.
Keeping an eye on Hamas-North Korea
In Japan on Wednesday, Blinken and other G7 foreign ministers condemned North Korean arms transfers to Russia that they said were in direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
G7 ministers also called for a pause in fighting Hamas vs Israel so that humanitarian aid can reach civilians in Gaza after a month of bombing and increased Israeli ground attacks.
Park said she joined Blinken and G7 ministers in urging a humanitarian end to the fighting and was closely monitoring reports of North Korean involvement in helping Hamas.
“We continue to closely monitor any links North Korea has to weapons used by Hamas, or Hamas doctrine or strategy, and all of these activities,” Park said. “If there is a confirmed link, I think North Korea should be condemned.”
North Korea denies reports by some military experts that its weapons were used by Hamas, saying the accusations are a US ploy to divert attention from its responsibilities.
As he arrived for talks with Park, Blinken was met with a group of South Korean protesters who called for Israel to declare a ceasefire and for South Korea not to join what one participant called the “US-Israel policy.”
As he arrived for talks with Park, Blinken was met with a group of South Korean protesters who called for Israel to declare a ceasefire and for South Korea not to join what one participant called the “US-Israel policy.”
Park said Blinken and she also discussed North Korea’s efforts to launch a spy satellite and urged him to cancel them.
North Korea is believed to be preparing to make a third launch attempt after failing twice this year to launch one into orbit. South Korea said last week that North Korea was in the final stages of launch preparations after receiving technical assistance from Russia.
REUTERS
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