Photo : YONHAP News
Director of National Security Shin Won-sik says he and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed ways to respond to possible scenarios that could emerge with developments in military cooperation between Russia and North Korea in the wake of the North’s deployment of troops to Russia.
Shin told South Korean reporters on Friday that he met with Sullivan on the first day of his Washington trip on Thursday before adding that he cannot disclose the details of the meeting.
He did say that they discussed North Korea’s reckless “gray zone” provocations, including its plan to amend its constitution to include language identifying South Korea as a “hostile state,” blasting inter-Korean roads and railways and continuously sending trash-laden balloons.
Shin added that they also vowed to sternly deal with any North Korean provocations while maintaining an ironclad combined defense readiness.
In a three-way meeting held earlier in the day that also saw the attendance of Japan’s National Security Advisor Takeo Akiba, Shin said North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia was discussed in depth, adding that he, Sullivan and Akiba confirmed that their countries are on the same page in assessing related situations.
In particular, Shin said that they agreed that the North’s troop deployment is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions that poses a serious threat to not only the security of the Korean Peninsula but of the international community as well.