President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed concerns over deepening military and economic ties between North Korea and Russia, during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Washington D.C. 
 
Yoon said that Pyongyang-Moscow relations are causing "serious concern" not only in East Asia but also for global security, and further highlight the importance of the trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan outlined in their Camp David summit in 2023. 
 
The meeting with Kishida was part of a series of back-to-back bilateral summit talks that Yoon held on the sidelines of the three-day conference that he is attending at NATO’s invitation. 
 
Yoon also held meetings with leaders of Canada, Germany, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, discussing a wide range of issues including concerns about North Korea and Russia, regional security and climate change. 
 
The South Korean leader also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a banquet hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday. 
 
Yoon and Zelenskiy could meet again on Thursday when they both attend NATO-related events, with some speculating that the Ukrainian leader could request Seoul's provision of weapons in its war against Russia.