The South Korean government summoned the Russian ambassador, Georgi Zinoviev, this Friday to protest against the mutual assistance agreement between Russia and North Korea, announced Wednesday by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev on Friday to protest against the recently announced agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un.
Seoul calls on Moscow to immediately end all military cooperation with Pyongyang.
Earlier in the day Friday, Kim Yo Jung, the sister of the North Korean leader, threatened South Korea with retaliation.
The threat came after South Korean activists flew balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the border and the South Korean military said it carried out warning shots to repel soldiers. North Koreans the day before.
Two days ago, Moscow and Pyongyang signed a pact promising mutual defense assistance in the event of an attack on either nation..
In response, South Korean government said it would consider supplying weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian invasion.
China remains very discreet about the agreement
While Moscow and Pyongyang are growing closer, China, a major political force in Asia, appears to be keeping its distance for now.
According to experts, this new pact could lead to a loss of influence for Beijing over North Korea.
China has yet to comment on the deal and has only reiterated that it hopes to maintain peace and stability in the region.
Beijing’s response was “very weak”according to Victor Cha, first vice-president of the Asia and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, before adding that this could indicate that the Chinese government does not yet know what to do.
“All options are against them”he adds. “Either they are unable to make a decision due to differences of opinion, or they simply do not know how to assess the situation”.
