South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest Moscow’s new defense pact with North Korea as tensions between the Koreas continued to rise.
Seoul, South Korea — South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest Moscow’s new defense pact with on Friday as tensions at the Koreas’ heavily fortified border continued to rise with vague threats from Pyongyang and brief, seemingly accidental incursions by North Korean troops.
Earlier Friday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a vague threat of retaliation after South Korean activists flew balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border, and South Korea’s military said it had fired warning shots the previous day to repel North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the rivals’ land border for the .
That came two days after Moscow and Pyongyang reached a if either is attacked, and a day after Seoul responded by saying it would to fight .
South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev to protest the deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un and called for Moscow to immediately halt its alleged military cooperation with Pyongyang.
Kim, the South Korean diplomat, stressed that any cooperation that directly or indirectly helps the North build up its military capabilities would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions and pose a threat to the South’s security and warned of consequences for Seoul’s relations with Moscow.
Zinoviev replied that he would convey Seoul’s concerns to his superiors in Moscow, the ministry said. Reuters reports that Zinoviev said he told Kim threats and blackmail against Moscow over its growing ties to Pyongyang are unacceptable.
Leafletting campaigns by South Korean civilian activists in recent weeks have prompted a resumption of Cold War-style psychological warfare along the inter-Korean border.
The South Korean civilian activists, led by North Korean defector Park Sang-hak, said it sent 20 balloons carrying 300,000 propaganda leaflets, 5,000 USB sticks with South Korean pop songs and TV dramas and 3,000 U.S. dollar bills from the South Korean border town of Paju on Thursday night.
