Seoul seeks Moscow's cooperation on NK
By Yi Whan-woo
Yun Byung-se
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Monday, to discuss issues related to North Korea, the foreign ministry said Sunday.
Yun, who took office in 2013, is the first South Korean foreign minister to visit Russia since 2011.
His Russian visit is part of the nation’s efforts to boost relations with the North’s former and current allies.
He is expected to ask for Moscow’s support in increasing pressure on Pyongyang during the scheduled meeting with Lavrov.
The ministers are also likely to discuss President Park Geun-hye’s possible trip to Russia, officials here said. Park has not visited Russia as the head of state while Russian President Vladimir Putin came to South Korea in November 2013.
“Russia is an important partner for North Korea’s denuclearization and peaceful inter-Korean Unification,” Yun said last week.
“We’ll have in-depth discussions about related issues. We’re also ready to discuss Park’s trip to Russia considering that Putin has invited her to visit.”
The foreign minister’s trip is in line with Seoul’s efforts to woo friendly nations with North Korea, such as Iran, Uganda and Cuba, to force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.
Yun and Lavrov last met in April during a security forum in China. Yun will stay in Russia until Tuesday before flying on to Bulgaria.
“There have been calls to make a turnaround in the Seoul-Moscow ties after South Korea threw support for the U.S.-led international sanctions on Russia in the wake of the Ukraine crisis,” a diplomatic source said on condition of anonymity.
In addition to China, Russia has been a key stakeholder in curbing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Moscow, however, has opposed the possible establishment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, an advanced U.S. missile shield, in South Korea. It refused to buy claims that THAAD’s primary purpose is to deter North Korea’s missile attacks and argued that it will pose a threat to regional security.
Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), is also interested in resuming the Rajin-Khasan logistics project involving the two Koreas.
It sought to secure a sales route for Siberian coal to South Korea through a railroad between Russia’s border town of Khasan and North Korea’s ice-free port of Rajin.
South Korea decided to pull out of the project in March in line with the UNSC’s sanctions imposed in response to North Korea’s fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6.
The Russian government said Friday that the topics to be covered at the foreign ministerial talks, Monday, will include trade.
It also said any related parties for peace and stability in Northeast Asia should actively engage mutual relationships.
Yun will stop by St. Petersburg, Tuesday, to join the discussions involving government and private sectors of South Korea and Russia. The participants will share thoughts on boosting bilateral cooperation on politics and the economy.
Yun will fly to Bulgaria afterwards for a two-day visit. He is scheduled to meet Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Pavlov, Wednesday.
In May, Park became the first South Korean president to visit Iran and Uganda, which were accused of maintaining military ties with North Korea.
Yun was the first South Korean foreign minister to go to Cuba and hold talks with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez last week.
Except for Park, all South Korean Presidents _ Roh Tae-woo, the late Kim Young-sam, the late Kim Dae-jung, the late Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak _ visited Russia at least once during their term after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1990.
Kim Sung-hwan, one of Yun’s predecessors, visited Russia in August 2011.