High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (not pictured) during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry on November 04, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. Chung Sung-Jun/Pool via REUTERS
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea and the European Union on Monday jointly condemned North Korea's supply of weaponry to Moscow and demanded that it withdraw troops it has sent as Russia wages war against Ukraine.
The EU and South Korea were holding their first "Strategic Dialogue" meeting in Seoul, shortly after Washington and Seoul sounded the alarm about North Korea sending soldiers to help Russia.
In a joint statement, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul condemned the North's "unlawful arms transfers to the Russian Federation for its use in attacking Ukraine".
They demanded an end to the "unlawful military cooperation" and a withdrawal of the North Korean forces.
Borrell also met South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
"Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an existential threat," Borrell said in a post on X that included a photo of him shaking hands with Kim. "The Republic of Korea is best positioned to understand it. We are united in our support to Ukraine. I encouraged them to step it up."
The two countries also signed a security and defence partnership covering 15 areas including cyber security and disarmament.
Cho said last week, when asked whether Seoul could send weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea aiding Russia, that all possible scenarios were under consideration,
South Korea has provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine, including mine clearance equipment, but rebuffed requests for weapons.
Seoul expects the North to be compensated by Moscow with military and civilian technology, as it races to launch a spy satellite and upgrade its missile capabilities.
North Korea last week flexed its military muscle with the test of a huge new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed Hwasong-19.
Washington expects the North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region, part of which has been seized by neighbouring Ukraine, to enter the fight against Ukrainian forces soon, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week.
At talks in Moscow on Friday, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said her country would back Russia until it achieved victory in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Ed Davies, Lincoln Feast, Timothy Heritage and Kevin Liffey)
