(Seoul) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Seoul on Thursday to support his Asian ally, as neighboring North Korea strengthens military cooperation with Russia.
The head of American diplomacy arrived Wednesday evening from Japan, where he attended a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, and after a marathon tour of the Middle East. This is his first visit to South Korea since President Yoon Suk Yeol came to power in May 2022.
Mr. Blinken will meet Mr. Yoon, National Security Advisor Cho Tae-yong and his South Korean counterpart Park Jin. Increased military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, and what it means for security in the region, should be at the top of the agenda, according to U.S. officials.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un traveled to the Russian Far East in September, where he met with President Vladimir Putin. This meeting was followed by several arms deliveries, according to Seoul, which estimates that North Korea provided a million shells to Russia for its war in Ukraine, in exchange for know-how in space technologies.
Moscow deemed these assertions “without evidence”.
Analysts say there is significant technological overlap between space launch capabilities and the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the use of which Pyongyang has been banned from under multiple United Nations sanctions.
“We are deeply concerned because Russia is supplying Pyongyang in exchange for weapons and ammunition that it receives from them,” Blinken said Wednesday after the G7 meeting.
“We will continue to press for the full implementation of all relevant UN Security Council resolutions and commitments to the global non-proliferation order,” he added.
Spy satellite
Over the past year, North Korea has conducted a record number of missile and other weapons tests, despite international sanctions. It also declared its status as a nuclear power “irreversible”.
“Given the renewed cooperation between North Korea and Russia, South Korea rightly wants the United States to reaffirm its support and commitment to comply with UN sanctions. This visit is designed for this purpose,” Benjamin A. Engel, professor at Seoul National University, told AFP.
Historical allies, Russia and North Korea are both subject to heavy international sanctions: Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons tests.
North Korea is seeking to put a military spy satellite into orbit, but two attempts to do so have failed this year. Seoul believes that the third attempt, currently in preparation, could be the right one thanks to help from Moscow.
Mr. Blinken’s visit to South Korea will be followed by that of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to reaffirm military cooperation between the two countries.
In October, a U.S. B-52 bomber capable of carrying atomic bombs flew a rare mission to South Korea, less than a week after the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS visited a South Korean port Ronald Reagan.
The United States is also seeking to strengthen its “triangular” alliance with South Korea and Japan, as part of its efforts to strengthen itself in the Asia-Pacific in the face of the North Korean threat, but also to respond to the rise of China.
South Korea, a major arms exporter, is also expected to come under pressure from Washington to provide more aid to Ukraine. Seoul has so far stuck to a long-standing doctrine that prohibits it from selling weapons to countries at war.