President Yoon Suk Yeol said that divergent interests among North Korea, Russia and China render alignment with Pyongyang and Moscow detrimental for Beijing.

The president made the remarks in an interview with the British daily The Telegraph published on Monday ahead of his state visit to Britain, stressing that China is playing an important role in promoting freedom, peace, and prosperity in East Asia.

President Yoon asserted that Beijing will consider the harm to its reputation and international status resulting from trilateral cooperation with North Korea and Russia, which blatantly violate the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions as well as other international norms.

The president cited the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war as well as heightened tensions in Russia, North Korea and the South China Sea as the reasons for South Korea’s pursuit of close security cooperation with the West, emphasizing the importance of security relations with Britain.