US-South Korea discuss joint response to North Korea-Russia cooperation

Seoul: South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit and discussed the two nations' alliance and ways to jointly deal with growing cooperation between North Korea and Russia, Cho's office said Friday.

Cho and Blinken held talks in Washington on Thursday (US time) to discuss the latest outcome of the summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and US President Joe Biden, and ways to enhance bilateral nuclear cooperation and the allies' coordinated response to the Pyongyang-Moscow ties, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

In particular, they assessed that a joint declaration adopted after the summit affirmed Yoon and Biden's commitment to strongly respond to "illegal cooperation" between North Korea and Russia, it added, according to Yonhap news agency.

On Thursday, Yoon held a bilateral meeting with Biden and adopted a statement on updating the guidelines for the Nuclear Consultative Group, which outlines the allies' planning and coordination of a joint nuclear response in case of North Korea's nuclear attacks.

Cho and Blinken also agreed to maintain close coordination between Seoul and Washington, as well as among South Korea, the United States and Japan, to send a powerful message condemning the North-Russia cooperation and North Korea's provocations at upcoming meetings of foreign ministers involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to be held in Laos later this month.

They also discussed facilitating communications between the two countries' high-level officials, according to the ministry.