Foreign minister Cho Tae-yul said that it remains to be seen what agreements North Korea and Russia will reach during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, but the government will take necessary measures depending on the results.

Appearing on a cable TV channel on Sunday, the minister said that South Korea has voiced clear opposition to Moscow and Pyongyang holding discussions in a way that undermines peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, adding Seoul has clearly conveyed this warning to Russia. 

Cho assessed that North Korea and Russia have become closer out of necessity following Russia’s war in Ukraine, and that Putin's visit to North Korea is taking place in this context. The minister, however, said it remains to be seen whether the closer relations will lead to long-term and strategic cooperation. 

Putin is expected to visit North Korea early this week. 

Regarding a diplomatic security dialogue between South Korea and China, which will take place around the same time as Putin’s visit to the North, Cho said that it is important for the two sides to make efforts to minimize conflicts while acknowledging differences. 

The minister denounced the North’s recent launches of trash-carrying balloons into the South as an unreasonable and illiterate move. He added that the Seoul government took stern and restrained response measures such as the suspension of the inter-Korean military agreement and resumption of anti-Pyongyang broadcasts via loudspeakers.