Anchor: South Korea is watching intently as North Korea and Russia move to join China in standing up against what they called U.S.-led hegemony, stating that Pyongyang and Moscow are raising tensions in the region.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.

Report: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for the faithful fulfillment of agreements made with Russian President Vladimir Putin to establish stable and forward-looking relations with Russia.

According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) Friday, Kim made the remarks on Thursday when he met with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Pyongyang.

Kim reportedly suggested that the two nations improve the welfare of their peoples and strongly push to build a strong nation based on the agreements he and Putin reached in their summit last month.

In Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said Lavrov and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui agreed during talks on Thursday to sternly respond to Washington's hegemonic policy that destabilizes the state of affairs in the Asia-Pacific.

The ministry said the two officials closely discussed ways to develop bilateral relations, with a particular focus on enforcing previous agreements from the summit of their two leaders in April 2019 and in September this year.

Meanwhile, in Seoul, the foreign ministry said Lavrov’s comment that Russia supports negotiations without preconditions to discuss the peninsula’s security issues is an attempt to distract from the cause of rising tensions.

A ministry official said on Friday the statement is an apparent effort to shift the focus of the international community away from the possibility of illegal military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

The official said the nature of the problem is North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development and urged Russia to immediately suspend engagement in any illegal military cooperation that threatens South Korea’s security and violates UN Security Council resolutions.

South Korea's Unification Ministry also added on Friday that it is keeping a close eye on the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the North. 

Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.