Sternly deal with Russia’s brazen defiance

Korea-Russia relations are freezing fast after South Korea and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations in 1990. The freeze resulted from the revival of the clause on “automatic military intervention in times of crisis” in the new treaty signed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. As Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul pointed out, any direct or indirect support to reinforce the North’s military capabilities constitutes a brazen violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

After the details of the new treaty were disclosed, our government strongly criticized it. Following the Foreign Ministry summoning the Russian ambassador to protest the dangerous insertion, the government held a National Security Council meeting to announce a plan to review its earlier stance against supplying attack weapons to Ukraine.

But Putin is bent on distorting the truth rather than reflecting on the repercussions of the treaty. Wrapping up his visits to North Korea and Vietnam last week, Putin warned Seoul against providing military weapons to Ukraine.

The threat was followed by a lame excuse. Claiming that there is nothing new in the treaty, Putin nonchalantly brushed off the clause, saying, “South Korea doesn’t have to worry about military assistance because South Korea does not have a plan to invade North Korea.” If this is not sophistry, what is? Following his repeated violations of UN sanctions on North Korea, Putin promised to supply the country with highly sophisticated weapons.

National Security Advisor Chang Ho-jin on Sunday warned Russia to not provide cutting-edge weapons to North Korea. His warning translates into a willingness to supply Ukraine with attack weapons without restrictions if Moscow provides sophisticated weapons to Pyongyang. Our government must respond to Russia’s deviation strongly. If Russia crosses a red line, Seoul must let Moscow pay the price.

The government must send a clear message to the North and Russia through the Freedom Edge drill — a joint, multi-domain military exercise among the South, the United States and Japan — which starts this week. They can warn Russia together in the NATO summit scheduled for July in Washington.

Our government must closely check for any loopholes in its intelligence capability, because it was not convinced of the alarming restoration of the clause in the new treaty until the last minute. The Foreign Ministry in May shut down the Office of Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs after 18 years and launched the Headquarters for Diplomatic Strategy and Information to effectively respond to the changing tides. Actions speak louder than words.