Yoon, NATO chief agree to share info on N. Korea's weapons used in Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, shake hands at a bilateral meeting during NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington D.C., U.S., July 11. Reuters-Yonhap
President Yoon Suk Yeol and the chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held talks Thursday and agreed to share information regarding North Korea's weapons used in Russia's war in Ukraine, Yoon's office said.
Yoon met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington amid rising concerns over the burgeoning military cooperation between Russia and North Korea following their recent signing of a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty, which includes a mutual defense clause.
They agreed that the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a clear violation of multiple U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and represents a serious threat to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions.
"The two sides agreed to share information on North Korean weapons used in the Ukraine conflict in response to the escalating military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, and they will proceed with the relevant procedures to implement this agreement," the presidential office said in a release.
South Korea has accused North Korea of providing artillery and weapons to Russia for Moscow's war in Ukraine as it has been closely monitoring the possibility of Pyongyang getting military technology and others from Moscow in return.
NATO denounced the alleged arms transactions between Pyongyang and Moscow for violating UNSC resolutions that ban countries from trading weapons or other military equipment with North Korea. (Yonhap)