Yun’s Russia visit aimed at pressing N.K.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is set to meet with his Russian counterpart on Monday in Moscow as Seoul seeks to ramp up concerted pressure against North Korea in the wake of its latest nuclear and missile tests.

Yun departed for the Russian capital on Sunday afternoon for the first trip by Seoul’s top diplomat in about five years. During his two-day stay, he will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, attend a joint conference on politics and economics and tour South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor’s plant in St. Petersburg, the Foreign Ministry said.

Following Pyongyang’s Jan. 6 underground blast and Feb. 7 long-range rocket firing, South Korea has been working to intensify pressure to curb Pyongyang’s steadfast nuclear ambition and improve the implementation of newly imposed U.N. Security Council sanctions. 

“It has been five months since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and 100 days since the UNSC adopted a fresh resolution. At this point, I’m looking to have a chance to assess, once more, bilateral relations with Russia and international coordination,” Yun told reporters at the Incheon airport ahead of his flight.

“Mainly we would hold in-depth discussions on issues of mutual interest including the situation on the Korean Peninsula.”

The trip appears to be intended to forestall any crack in global collaboration on North Korea’s nuclear issues especially after its top party official and former Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong’s visit to China late last month.

Alongside Beijing, Moscow has traditionally been a key diplomatic and economic patron of the North and a member of the now-stalled six-nation denuclearization talk, wielding veto power within the U.N.’s top governing body. 

As part of efforts to consolidate the united front, the minister has in recent months been traveling to countries with longstanding ties with the communist state, including Iran, Cuba and Uganda. 

Sources of contention persist, however, such as Russia’s staunch opposition to the plans by Seoul and Washington to station advanced U.S. missile defense assets here -- the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system -- and Moscow’s standoff with the West over the Ukraine crisis.

By Shin Hyon-hee  (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)