N. Korea's Kim reaffirms unconditional support for Russia on Ukraine war: KCNA
Kim made the remarks in a meeting with Lavrov on Saturday, held a day after the Russian minister flew to North Korea for his second round of strategic talks with the North Korean counterpart, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
During the talks, Kim and Lavrov discussed the faithful implementation of the agreements reached during Kim's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang in June last year, as well as ways to further develop the two countries' strategic partnership, the KCNA said.
Kim "reaffirmed that the DPRK is ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis" in line with the North Korea-Russia mutual defense treaty, the KCNA said.
DPRK refers to the official North Korean name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The KCNA also quoted Kim as saying that "the two countries share the same views on all strategic issues in conformity with the level of (their) alliance and it shows the high strategic level established between the two countries."
Lavrov praised the strategic communication between the two countries in diplomatic fields, expressing his intention to "further strengthen the strategic and tactical cooperation and intensify concerted action ... in the international arena," according to the report.
The meeting reaffirmed the determination of the North Korean and Russian leaderships to "closely support and cooperate with each other in the journey for thoroughly safeguarding the core interests of the two countries (and) powerfully promoting the overall development of bilateral ties" under their comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, the KCNA said.
The KCNA also reported that Lavrov conveyed Putin's "warm greetings" to Kim, who reciprocated with thanks and his own friendly greetings to the Russian president.
An earlier Russian news report on the Kim-Lavrov meeting said that the Russian minister delivered Putin's message expressing hope for direct contact with Kim in the very near future.
Meanwhile, the KCNA carried a statement from the strategic dialogue held the previous day between North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and Lavrov.
The statement reaffirmed the two countries' "unwavering" commitment to advancing North Korea-Russia relations into long-term strategic ties by faithfully implementing the mutual treaty.
In the statement, Russia expressed "firm opposition" to any arbitrary attempts to deny North Korea's "current status," voicing unwavering support for Pyongyang's efforts to defend its national security and sovereign rights, while North Korea expressed unconditional support for all Russian actions in its war against Ukraine.
"It has been confirmed that the two sides' assessments of the current complex international situation are identical," the statement said, pledging joint efforts to strengthen strategic communication and coordinate their shared stance.
Aboard a private jet, Lavrov arrived in North Korea's eastern coastal city of Wonsan on Friday for a three-day trip through Sunday. Both of his meetings with Kim and Choe took place at the newly opened Kalma beach resort area in Wonsan. (Yonhap)
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As the Lee Jae Myung administration's North Korea policy stirred expectations of detente and potential geopolitical tremors, an obituary in a newspaper caught my eye last month. Dr. Oh Indong, a well-known Korean American orthopedic surgeon and unification activist, passed away on June 19 at his Pasadena, California, home at age 86. Oh enjoyed international acclaim for his expertise in artificial hip joint replacement. A former Harvard Medical School faculty member, he invented major improvements in joint replacement devices and prosthesis systems, obtaining 11 patents and winning prestigious research awards. Back in his homeland, though, his name is more often associated with the pro-unification movement. He was noted for his outspoken views about the division of the Korean Peninsula, including the role of the South Korea-US alliance as an impediment to unity, and possible solutions. How did Oh connect his successful medical career in America and his activism for Korean reunification? The long journey began in 1992, when Dr. Kwon Young-sei, then-president of the Korean American Medical Association, phoned with an audacious suggestion: 'Dr. Oh, let's go to Pyongyang!' Oh agreed immediately. 'Oh, yes! Of course, I'll go.' Oh soon was on his way to the North Korean capital with the KAMA delegation. Its goal was to lay the groundwork for academic exchange and medical support. The trip was before the so-called 'first North Korea nuclear crisis' led to the travel ban on American citizens to the North. 'Some of my colleague doctors who had privately visited North Korea to meet their relatives lamented the poor health care conditions there. I wanted to confirm the North's medical environment with my own eyes so I could do whatever was possible to be of some help,' Oh recalled in his 2010 book, 'My Surgical Tool Bags Left in Pyongyang.' Thus, as part of a five-member delegation, Oh arrived in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 1992. That night, he could hardly sleep with curiosity and expectations. Though the sights in the city were unfamiliar, he found that people were not the 'red-faced demons to be defeated.' Contrary to the rhetoric heard in South Korea, the people north of the Demilitarized Zone displayed the same warmth. The realization came with a layer of sadness. That first sleepless night in Pyongyang, Oh did not think about returning many times in the years to come. But he realized that he needed to have a correct understanding of the causes of division and the state of confrontation. Upon returning from the trip, he began studying modern and contemporary Korean history, rediscovering national history and gaining a renewed awareness of division and animosity. In 1997, Oh launched Korea-2000, a non-governmental research council, along with like-minded Korean Americans. The group wrote recommendations on unification policy for the governments of both Koreas. In January 1998, Oh visited Seoul and Pyongyang to deliver the recommendations when hopes for reconciliation surged with the election of President Kim Dae-jung in the South and the ascension of Chairman Kim Jong-il in the North. Two years later, the leaders held a historic summit and signed the South-North Joint Declaration, also known as the June 15 Declaration. As co-chair of the US committee tasked with fulfilling the declaration, Oh strongly advocated the Korean initiative in cross-border exchanges and economic cooperation. He called for an 'economic community under a confederacy of two states,' pending peaceful reunification, and suggested joint management of the North's nuclear arsenal under the principles of nonproliferation and eventual denuclearization when reunification is achieved. 'Combine the South's mighty capital and technology and the North's abundant natural resources and human labor, drastically reducing the defense spending and military troops of both sides, then the confederacy will emerge as the world's fifth economic power with a population of 80 million within 10 years,' Oh reiterated. 'Unification will not mean the South's losses. It will be hugely profitable business for both Koreas.' For a genuine Korean initiative, Oh emphasized direct inter-Korean dialogue, rather than bilateral negotiations between the US and North Korea. In his article, 'Make South Korea the Real Party to North Korea,' published by the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability in 2000, Oh argued that the US wartime operational control over the South Korean forces under the Combined Forces Command hinders North-South dialogue. Oh began his medical assistance in the North in 2009, with joint operations with orthopedists at Pyongyang Medical University. On each of his nearly annual visits thereafter, he brought a load of artificial joints and surgical instruments. He also helped the North produce expensive artificial joints and prosthesis systems to promote self-sufficiency. 'Each time, I left my bags behind in Pyongyang. It was my promise to return,' Oh wrote in his book. 'I believe that in every human affair, communication and trust are the keys to solution. Through my visits, I experienced building trust and camaraderie with North Koreans.' Oh believed that he was tasked with healing the ailing legs of the North and the South to enable the two halves to stand firmly together. His mission remains unfulfilled. His surgical tool bags in Pyongyang must be awaiting another visionary.
