Putin’s ‘destabilising’ North Korea trip unnerves Seoul with ‘existential threats’

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Seoul had conveyed a “warning message” to Moscow that “negotiations with the North should not be conducted in a way that undermines peace and stability on the Korean peninsula”.

“It remains to be seen whether this cooperation will lead to a long-term, strategic relationship, or whether it will be a temporary, tactical cooperation out of short-term necessity,” he told South Korean television network Channel-A.

“I think when the war in Ukraine is over, it would be necessary for [Russia] to think carefully about which one is more important and helpful for its national interest – the South or the North”, Chang said.

South Korea was also verifying allegations that Russia was helping the North to develop missiles and spy satellites, which would pose “existential threats” to the South, said Park Won-gon, a political-science professor at Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul.

Sydney Seiler, the Korea chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said last week that Putin’s visit appeared to reinforce the desires of Moscow and Pyongyang to show they have “partners in this new direction” that the Russian president wants the international community to take.

Kim wants to show the West that North Korea can prevail despite international isolation, sanctions and pressure and that he has partners to turn to, according to Seiler.

“I believe China is somewhat concerned over it”, he said, adding that Russia’s aid to North Korea was “potentially very destabilising in a way that is detrimental to China’s interest”.

“My personal hope is that China seeks to shape the nature of that cooperation to ensure Russia does not embolden and enable North Korea to engage in more adventurous and dangerous