[APEC Summit] Yoon “North Korea-Russia military cooperation, a grave threat beyond the Korean Peninsula.”

[iNews24 Reporter Kim Bo-seon] President Yoon Seok-yeol discussed with other world leaders the international community’s strategies to address North Korea and Russia’s military cooperation at the APEC summit.

The presidential office announced that President Yoon held successive summits with Chile, Peru, Japan, and Vietnam, among others, on November 16 (local time) during the APEC summit and continued these discussions.

Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, said in a local briefing, “In today’s successive meetings, President Yoon emphasized with other world leaders that Russia’s military cooperation with North Korea is a significant threat to the world beyond the Korean Peninsula, and discussed cooperation measures against this illegal cooperation that undermines the normative order.”

The presidential office did not disclose specifics about the conversations between the leaders.

In an interview with the Associated Press reported on November 14, President Yoon also said, “The military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, which is prohibited by the UN Security Council resolutions, not only seriously threatens the security of the Korean Peninsula, Northeast Asia, and Europe, but also undermines the international order based on universal norms.”

After concluding Session 1 of the APEC summit, President Yoon attended the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) summit and discussed measures to strengthen cooperation in supply chain and energy security. The IPEF, launched under the leadership of U.S. President Biden, is a consultative body designed to jointly respond to new economic and trade issues, including supply chain restructuring. South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are among the 14 countries in the Indo-Pacific region participating in the IPEF.

After the IPEF meeting, there was a separate meeting between the leaders of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. After the meeting, the leaders continued to chat in a relaxed atmosphere for about 10 minutes.

According to Deputy Director Kim Tae-hyo, during the meeting, President Biden said, “Thanks to President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida, I have been able to lighten my burden as the U.S. President.”

In addition to the trilateral summit between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held their seventh summit of the year. The two leaders evaluated the restoration of diplomatic, security, and economic consultation bodies between the authorities and agreed to expand exchanges in study abroad, internships, and employment for future generations. With South Korea, the U.S., and Japan set to jointly operate in the UN Security Council from next year, they plan to strengthen cooperation among the three countries based on the Camp David spirit in dealing with major security issues such as North Korea and Ukraine.

In a summit with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, they agreed to strengthen cooperation in defense, supply chains, development cooperation, and infrastructure. This is the first summit between the two countries in eight years since 2015.

President Yoon also held his first summit with Chilean President Gabriel Boric after taking office. They agreed to strengthen cooperation in various fields, including key minerals, defense and defense industries, trade and investment, and infrastructure, with Chile, the world’s largest lithium holder.

In a meeting with Vietnamese President Vo Van Trong, they agreed to systematically promote exchanges to maintain the growth momentum of trade and investment in semiconductors and automobiles and to expand support to activate youth exchanges.