Seoul links talks on Ukraine with peace on Korean Peninsula
Photo: Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel and South Korea’s Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young (x.com/ministerBZ)
South Korean authorities believe that peace talks between Ukraine and Russia and peace on the Korean Peninsula are interconnected, states South Korea’s Minister of Unification, Chung Dong-young, according to Yonhap.
"Russia and Ukraine are currently holding peace talks. This issue is interconnected with the issue of establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula," Chung Dong-young said during a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel.
He urged the Dutch official to "raise his voice more in the international community for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."
For his part, van Weel stressed that North Korea’s involvement in the war against Ukraine has turned the challenges posed by the regime to South Korea into challenges facing the Netherlands as well, despite the geographical distance between the two countries.
He described the Russia–North Korea military rapprochement as "toxic." According to him, it undermines European security not only because of the involvement of North Korean soldiers and weapons, but also because of what Pyongyang receives from Russia in return.
North Koreans are fighting against Ukraine
Earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) reported that as of January 2026, a grouping of North Korean troops is deployed in Russia’s Kursk region, from where it carries out regular attacks on Ukrainian border communities.
North Korean military personnel are involved in shelling with tube artillery and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), and also carry out aerial reconnaissance and fire-adjustment missions.
