South Korean Leader Pushes for 'Peaceful Coexistence' with DPRK, China, Russia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – South Korean President Lee Jae-myung warned against ratcheting up tensions as he called for peaceful coexistence between regional players, including North Korea, China and Russia in an interview with Reuters.
Lee highlighted "increasing confrontation between a socialist camp of countries and a capitalist camp."
According to him, because of its geographical position, his country risks finding itself on the frontier of any conflict between the camps.
He pointed to an escalatory spiral of rivalry where the Republic of Korea, the United States, and Japan deepen cooperation as North Korea, China and Russia work more closely together, TASS reported.
"This is a very dangerous situation for Korea, and we must find an exit ramp out of the escalating military tensions. We must find a way for peaceful coexistence," the South Korean leader said.
At the same time, Lee said he shared the opinion of his predecessor, Yoon Suk-yeol, that North Korea's military cooperation with Russia is "a significant threat to South Korea's security."
However, he continued, the issue must be addressed through dialogue and coordination as responding to it in a simplistic way would not be enough.
Moscow has repeatedly said that cooperation between Russia and North Korea is not aimed against third countries. In June 2024, Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement that, among other things, includes a provision on military assistance in the event of an armed attack on either of the two sides.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said the strategic cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is not of an unusual or extreme nature despite Western attempts to demonize it.
