South Korea and the United States warned that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia constitutes a violation of Security Council resolutions and will have a price.
This came during the high-level deterrence dialogue held last Friday evening in Seoul, days after a rare summit between the leaders of Pyongyang and Moscow.
South Korea's Yonhap Agency reported: "The fourth meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy Consultative Group (EDSCG), a gathering of defense and diplomatic officials at the Minister Undersecretaries level in the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was held amid concerns that Pyongyang and Moscow might discuss a potential arms deal."
Bonnie Jenkins, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, said during a press conference after the meeting, “Recent reports about possible arms sales between North Korea and Russia are alarming and any such arms transfer would be a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
The meeting was chaired by Seoul's Deputy Foreign and Defense Ministers Jang Ho-jin and Shin Beom-chul from the Korean side, while the American side was chaired by Jenkins and Sasha Baker, Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Affairs.
Jenkins said that the United States reiterated that any nuclear attack by North Korea against Washington or its allies, including South Korea, would be "unacceptable and will lead to the end of this regime."
She added that the two sides strongly condemned the escalation of defense and political cooperation between North Korea and Russia and discussed how to confront Russia's facilitation of North Korea's illegal nuclear and missile programs, and Pyongyang's assistance to Moscow in its illegal war efforts in Ukraine.
Regarding the Taiwan Strait issue, Jenkins expressed her appreciation to the South Korean government for repeatedly emphasizing the importance of peace and stability in the region.
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Jang Ho-jin said that the two sides agreed on the need to make North Korea and Russia "pay the price" for military cooperation, calling on Russia to "act responsibly" as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
Zhang said the two sides agreed to start the Extended Deterrence Strategy Consultative Group (EDSCG), along with the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), in a "complementary" way to strengthen the allies' extended deterrence efforts.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency