South Korea and Russia recently held closed-door talks in Moscow on North Korea's nuclear program and regional security issues. According to diplomatic sources, a South Korean foreign ministry official met with Russian counterparts to urge Moscow's constructive role in Korean Peninsula peace and ending the Ukraine war. This marks the first such meeting involving nuclear officials since October 2024.
South Korea and Russia recently conducted closed-door talks in Moscow focused on North Korea's nuclear program and broader regional security concerns, diplomatic sources reported on Sunday. A South Korean foreign ministry official responsible for North Korean nuclear issues traveled to Moscow to meet Oleg Burmistrov, Russia's ambassador-at-large for the North Korean nuclear matter, along with other officials. The South Korean side reportedly urged Russia to assume a constructive role in securing peace on the Korean Peninsula, amid Seoul's aims to resume dialogue with Pyongyang next year and ongoing efforts to end the Ukraine war.
Given Russia's close relationship with North Korea, Seoul views Moscow as potentially pivotal in encouraging Pyongyang's return to talks. This meeting represents the first involving North Korean nuclear officials from both sides since October 2024, when bilateral ties deteriorated following North Korea's deployment of troops to support Russia in Ukraine. The prior encounter between the two nations' foreign ministers occurred in September this year.
South Korea likely used the occasion to express concerns over deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, which Seoul regards as a security threat to the peninsula. In a recent policy briefing to President Lee Jae Myung, the foreign ministry stated it would closely monitor negotiations to end the Ukraine war and seek Russia's positive involvement in Korean Peninsula issues while working to restore ties with Moscow. The ministry also pledged continued diplomatic pushes to stop the Russia-North Korea military collaboration, describing it as a breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
