Seoul: Top diplomats from South Korea and the European Union are set to engage in talks next week, as announced by Seoul’s foreign ministry on Tuesday. The discussions are expected to focus on North Korea’s recent deployment of troops to Russia.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, will convene in Seoul next Monday for the inaugural South Korea-EU strategic dialogue. This strategic dialogue platform was established following a bilateral summit in May of the previous year.
Borrell’s visit was planned prior to the revelations regarding North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia. With these new developments, it is anticipated that the discussions will address the strengthening military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow alongside South Korean officials. Both sides are also likely to consider cooperative measures to address the issue, as the EU has expressed its willingness to impose independent sancti
ons in response to North Korea’s actions.
The United States reported on Monday that North Korea has dispatched approximately 10,000 soldiers to eastern Russia for training. Furthermore, North Korean troops have been stationed in Russia’s western front-line Kursk region, as noted by the chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Monday.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday. During their discussion, they reviewed the progress of the security and defense partnership announced at the summit held in Seoul in May 2023, as stated in a press release from the EU. “This partnership underscores the interlinked nature of the security of Europe and East Asia. It will reinforce the shared commitment of the EU and the Republic of Korea to promote peace and stability across both regions,” the release mentioned, referring to South Korea by its official name.
Von der Leyen further conveyed the EU’s concern over the escalating
military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, which could potentially embolden Pyongyang to increase tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Earlier in the day, South Korea’s spy agency reported that some North Korean generals and troops sent to Russia to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine might have moved to the battlefield zones.