S. Korea, Germany vow 'united, firm' response to NK-Russia military cooperation

Senior diplomats of South Korea and Germany have agreed to work closely to ensure a "united and firm" response against growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun shared the commitment with Thomas Bagger, the state secretary of Germany's Federal Foreign Office, during their bilateral talks in Berlin on Monday, the South Korean ministry said in a release.

Kim is on a two-nation swing in Europe this week that will also take him to Spain.

The two diplomats "expressed deep concern over the serious threats" posed by military cooperation between the North and Russia to security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, the ministry said.

"They underscored the need for a united and firm response from the international community and agreed to continue to work closely together to this end," it said.

They both expressed hope for the bilateral relations to further deepen in various areas, such as trade, investment, advanced industries and climate change, through continued, robust, high-level exchanges.

While in Berlin, Kim also met with Wolfgang Silbermann, head of the foreign policy department of the Office of the Federal President, and discussed bilateral ties, the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the war in Ukraine.

Kim then met separately with Heiko Thoms, state secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, to discuss efforts to boost economic cooperation between the two countries.

Prior to his current position, Kim served as the ambassador to Germany. (Yonhap)