“The tensions on the Korean peninsula resulting from the strengthening of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea are contrary to China’s interests and we ask China to play a constructive role for peace, stability and the denuclearization of the peninsula,” according to a statement from the South Korean Foreign Ministry.
The text is a summary of a meeting on Tuesday between officials from the South Korean and Chinese foreign and defense ministries in Seoul, and was published hours before the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
In response, China said that “there would be no change in its policy towards the Korean peninsula and that it would play a constructive role in resolving the peninsula issue”, the South Korean Foreign Ministry added.
Shortly after the publication of this text, Putin and Kim met in the North Korean capital with the aim of signing a new strategic partnership treaty.
Another objective of the trip is the creation of a “reciprocal system of trade and payments not controlled by the West”, according to an editorial published on Tuesday by the North Korean daily Rodong.
Exchanges between Pyongyang and Moscow have intensified since the summit in Russia in September, and it is believed that since then Pyongyang has supplied Moscow with thousands of containers of weapons used in Ukraine.
In return, the regime is believed to have obtained advice for its spy satellite launch program.
