SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held discussions on enhancing bilateral cooperation and addressing the military collaboration between North Korea and Russia, as reported by the South Korean foreign ministry on Saturday. The meeting took place in Brussels, where Cho was attending a NATO gathering of foreign ministers earlier in the week.
According to Yonhap News Agency, during their meeting on Friday, Cho outlined South Korea's efforts to establish a new monitoring mechanism against North Korea. This initiative comes in response to the failure of the U.N. Security Council to extend the mandate of the expert panel that oversees the enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang. Furthermore, Cho sought NATO's support for South Korea's diplomatic endeavors, including the proposal to convene a U.N. General Assembly session to condemn Russia for vetoing the extension of the sanctions monitoring.
Stoltenberg acknowledged the importance of a unified international stance against the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia and assured Cho of NATO's ongoing support for South Korea's initiatives aimed at achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. The discussions also covered potential areas for stronger bilateral cooperation, particularly in cyber security and the defense industry, reflecting a commitment to deepen ties between South Korea and NATO amidst shared security concerns.