Australian foreign minister condemns Russia-North Korea ties after DMZ visit

By Hyunsu Yim

PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) -Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday that a security pact signed by Russia and North Korea was destabilising the region, adding that North Korea was giving weapons to Russia in "flagrant violation" of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Wong was speaking to reporters in the city of Paju after a visit to the nearby Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, which remain technically at war.

"We see Russia behaving in ways which are not conducive to peace but are escalatory," she said, referring to a security pact signed between the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June.

Under the pact, North Korea and Russia agreed to provide immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression.

Washington and its allies are also alarmed by the deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, and have accused both nations of breaching international laws by trading in weapons for Russia to use against Ukraine.

Pyongyang and Moscow have denied conducting any arms transactions.

"The continued transfer (of) weapons from North Korea to Russia is a flagrant violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions," Wong told reporters.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul also expressed concern over North Korea and Russia's military cooperation during a meeting with Wong, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

"Korea and Australia are aligned in our vision for upholding the rules based order in the region," Cho said.

South Korea and Australia will also launch a dialogue on economic security and hold annual talks on the climate, the ministry statement added.

Wong arrived in Seoul after attending summits in Laos at a gathering of the ASEAN bloc and joining a meeting of Quad foreign ministers in Tokyo on Monday with counterparts from the United States, Japan and India.

In a statement ahead of her trip, Wong said Australia and South Korea aim to build on their strategic alignment with expanded bilateral and regional cooperation, including on energy transition and economic security.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim in Seoul and Dogyun Kim in Paju; Editing by Ed Davies and Miral Fahmy)