South Korean president warns of Russia-North Korea nuclear collaboration

NEW YORK — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a sharp warning Wednesday about growing Russia-North Korea strategic ties, telling the U.N. General Assembly that Seoul and its allies “will not stand idly by” if Moscow is helping Pyongyang advance its nuclear weapons program.

In a speech to the annual gathering of international leaders a week after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a rare trip to Russia, Mr. Yoon stressed that the world should be closely monitoring the situation.

Mr. Kim vowed “full and unconditional support” for Mr. Putin during a summit between the two in Russia’s Far East that U.S. officials say may lead to a deal in which Pyongyang supplies ammunition and other military aid for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

South Korea is backing U.S. and NATO efforts to aid Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian invaders and Mr. Yoon, an outspoken conservative, has previously spoken out against Moscow’s destabilizing war. Seoul has so far stopped short of supplying arms directly to Kyiv, offering economic and humanitarian aid instead.

The South Korean president expressed specific frustration Wednesday that Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, is now seen to be openly pursuing weaponry from North Korea, which has built a ballistic missile and nuclear weapons arsenal in violation of unanimous Security Council resolutions.

“It is paradoxical that a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, entrusted as the ultimate guardian of world peace would wage war by invading another sovereign nation and receive arms and ammunition from a regime that blatantly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Mr. Yoon said.

“In such a situation, the call to reform the U.N. Security Council would receive broad support,” he said, echoing President Biden’s own push for a major overhaul of the world body’s executive arm.

The council is widely seen to have been hamstrung by divisions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the past 18 months. 

Mr. Biden has sought since last year to expand the core of the Council, which currently has five veto-wielding permanent members — China and Russia, the United States, Britain and France. The president told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that “we need to be able to break the gridlock that too often stymies progress and blocks consensus at the Council.”

The Security Council has previously approved a string of sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs. However, China and Russia, which both have economic ties with Pyongyang, often delay votes on such sanctions. China also has long been accused by U.S. officials of failing to enforce the sanctions once they are approved.

Mr. Yoon sought Wednesday to draw attention to the prospect of expanding weapons and technology collaboration between Russia and North Korea.

North Korea poses “not only a direct and existential threat to the peace of the [South Korea], but also is a serious challenge to peace in the Indo-Pacific region and across the globe,” the South Korean president said.

“If [North Korea] acquires information and technology necessary to enhance its [weapons of mass destruction] capabilities in exchange for supporting Russia with conventional weapons, the deal will be a direct provocation, threatening the peace and security of not only Ukraine, but also [South Korea],” he said.

South Korea, “together with its allies and partners will not stand idly by,” Mr. Yoon warned.