South Korea is seeking support from Russia for its “New Northern Policy”, the
Shanghai Observer reports.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in embarked on a three-day trip to Russia on Thursday, marking the first state visit to the country from a South Korean leader since 1999 – but the third meeting between Moon and Vladimir Putin.
South Korea is expected to seek Russia’s support over the North Korea nuclear issue, according to Zhan Debin, the head of Korean Peninsula studies at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics. Zhan told the Shanghai Observer that this will help the Moon government promote the “New Northern Policy.”
One of the Moon government’s primary diplomatic pursuits, the policy is designed to strengthen economic cooperation with Northeast Asian and Eurasian countries, says Fang Xiuyu, a South Korea expert at Fudan University. The core of the policy is to enhance trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Russia and North Korea, he says.
Looking eastward is also the trend in Russia’s development, Fang says, adding that it’ll offer an opportunity for the two sides to cooperate.
“North Korea has also expressed a will to cooperate,” Zhan said. As tensions on the Korean Peninsula ease, South Korea and Russia are likely to form a framework and have further talks with North Korea when Moon visits the country in September, the scholar says.
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