Russian Deputy Foreign Minister's Private Visit to Korea... High-Level Talks Amid Korea-Russia Tensions

Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia

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Amid recent diplomatic tensions between South Korea and Russia, it was confirmed on the 4th that Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific Affairs of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited South Korea. The government urged responsible behavior from Russia during the meeting with Deputy Minister Rudenko.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the day, Deputy Minister Rudenko paid a courtesy call on First Vice Minister Kim Hong-gyun at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd, and met with Vice Minister Jeong Byeong-won to discuss bilateral issues and the international situation, including the war in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "We conveyed a stern position on Russia-North Korea military cooperation and urged responsible behavior from the Russian side," adding, "We requested cooperation from Russia to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of our nationals and companies in Russia are not infringed."

On the same day, Deputy Minister Rudenko also held talks with Kim Geon, Head of the South Korea Peace Negotiation Headquarters, who is the chief representative for the South Korea-Russia North Korean nuclear issue talks. Deputy Minister Rudenko also serves as Russia's chief representative for the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear program.

During the talks, Head Kim conveyed the South Korean government's stern stance on North Korea-Russia military cooperation, which threatens security on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe, and urged Russia to immediately halt such cooperation and strictly comply with the obligations under United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Both sides agreed that continuing communication on the North Korean nuclear issue aligns with the interests of both South Korea and Russia."

Deputy Minister Rudenko's visit to South Korea attracted attention as it took place amid escalating diplomatic tensions between South Korea and Russia.

Previously, after President Yoon Suk-yeol criticized North Korea's 'legalization of preemptive nuclear use,' Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemned President Yoon's remarks on the 1st (local time), calling them "blatantly biased."

It is unusual for a spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to criticize remarks directed at North Korea rather than Russia. In response, the South Korean government summoned Georgy Zinoviev, Russian Ambassador to South Korea, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the day before.

However, it was reported that Deputy Minister Rudenko's visit and the high-level meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were coordinated before Zakharova's remarks were made.

From this perspective, the visit and meetings are interpreted not as efforts to resolve the bilateral conflict surrounding President Yoon's remarks. In fact, both countries attempted to arrange Deputy Minister Rudenko's visit at the end of September last year, but it did not materialize.

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