SEOUL: North Korea on Monday (Sep 25) slammed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for criticising its cooperation with Moscow following chief Kim Jong Un’s Russia visit, saying it’s “pure” and “regular” for neighbours to maintain shut relations.
Yoon, talking on the United Nations Basic Meeting final week, stated that if Russia helped North Korea improve its weapons programmes in return for help for its warfare in Ukraine, it could be “a direct provocation”.
In a bit carried by the KCNA information company, the North denounced Yoon for “malignantly” slandering its pleasant cooperation with Russia, and stated that Yoon was serving as a “loudspeaker” for the USA.
“It’s fairly pure and regular for neighbouring international locations to maintain shut relations with one another, and there’s no motive to name such follow to account,” it stated.
Kim returned residence final week from a week-long journey to Russia through which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to spice up navy and financial cooperation.
US and South Korean officers have expressed concern that Russia may very well be attempting to accumulate ammunition from the North to complement its dwindling shares for the warfare in Ukraine whereas Pyongyang seeks technological assist for its nuclear and missile programmes.
Any actions aiding North Korea’s weapons programmes are banned beneath UN Safety Council resolutions.
“The overseas coverage of the DPRK … won’t be tied to something, and its pleasant and cooperative relations with the shut neighbours will proceed to develop stronger,” the commentary stated, referring to the North’s official identify, the Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea.