Attention on Putin's Possible Visit to North Korea... South Korea-US Foreign Ministers' Meeting

US and South Korean Foreign Ministers Meet in Seoul Today
North Korea-Russia Cooperation Expected to Strengthen with Putin's Re-election

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has virtually secured a fifth term with nearly 90% of the vote, raising concerns that North Korea-Russia military cooperation will become even stronger. Amid this, the foreign ministers of South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold talks in Seoul on the 18th to discuss responses to North Korea-Russia relations and North Korean military provocations.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold a South Korea-U.S. foreign ministers' meeting over lunch that day. Secretary Blinken arrived in Seoul the previous day to attend the 3rd Summit for Democracy held in Seoul. In addition to cooperation on democracy between the two countries, North Korea and Russia issues are expected to be major agenda items at this meeting.

In particular, some speculate that President Putin, having successfully completed the presidential election, may make a sudden visit to North Korea in the first half of the year. At the North Korea-Russia summit held in September last year, President Putin accepted Chairman Kim’s invitation to visit North Korea. Currently, the period around April 15, the Day of the Sun, North Korea’s biggest holiday, is considered the most likely.

The South Korea-U.S. foreign ministers are expected to voice concerns about Russia’s attempts to break out of international isolation by building a Western anti-American camp with countries like North Korea.

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, said regarding President Putin’s securing of a fifth term, “Putin’s visit to North Korea is a matter of timing,” adding, “From North Korea’s perspective, this will be the most important foreign policy event of the year.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.