Australia's foreign minister said today that a recent defense agreement between North Korea and Russia is 'destabilizing' and 'risky for the world' after visiting a tense border village, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
In June, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact that provides for mutual military assistance if either country is attacked, raising concerns about deepening ties between the two countries. The US and its partners have repeatedly accused North Korea of supplying Russia with much-needed conventional weapons for its war in Ukraine in exchange for military and economic support.
„I also want to say something about the North Korea-Russia security pact. And let me reiterate that it is destabilizing. "This is risky for the world and we say again that Russia is behaving in ways that are not conducive to peace but to escalation," Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters after visiting the southern side of the Korean border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone.
Wong condemned North Korea's continued missile tests, which she said posed a security threat to the region.
The Australian minister met with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-jul in Seoul today, where they agreed to work together with the international community to address military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia. They also agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on economic security, climate change and other issues, according to South Korea's foreign ministry.
The situation on the Korean peninsula has escalated in recent months, with North Korea sending balloons full of garbage toward its southern neighbor and continuing to test weapons. South Korea has responded by resuming anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts and conducting live-fire exercises in border areas.