South Korea expresses stern warning to Russia over military cooperation with DPRK

South Korea has expressed a stern warning to Russia over Russia's growing military cooperation with the DPRK and called on Moscow to behave responsibly in its relations with Pyongyang.

This was reported by Yonhap citing the South Korean Foreign Ministry, Ukrinform reported.

Andrey Rudenko, the Russian deputy foreign minister in charge of the Asia-Pacific region, met with Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Byung-won on Friday and addressed the Ukrainian war and bilateral ties, the ministry said in a press release

Chung expressed South Korea's "stern stance" on Russia's growing military cooperation with North Korea and called for Moscow's "responsible behavior."

He also urged Russia's cooperation to prevent any infringement of the rights of South Korean firms and citizens in Russia.

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During his visit, Rudenko also held talks with Kim Gunn, South Korea's top nuclear envoy, according to the ministry.

Earlier this week, South Korean President  Yoon Suk Yeol called the DPRK the only country that has legalized the preventive use of nuclear weapons. Later, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized the South Korean leader's statement, accusing him of being blatantly biased.

As reported, the South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Seoul on Saturday because of Moscow's criticism of recent statements by President Yoon Suk Yeol about the DPRK's desire to build a nuclear arsenal.