EU’s Borrell sounds alarm on N Korea-Russia alliance in visit to S Korea

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, met with South Korean officials in Seoul on Monday, addressing mounting concerns over North Korea’s support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict.

This unprecedented cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang has raised alarm in South Korea, sparking worries that North Korean troops will soon join Russia’s frontline.

Following a visit to Japan, Borrell toured the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea, a visit he shared on social media. “My visit today of the Demilitarized Zone – DMZ – between the Republic of Korea and the DPRK is yet another reminder of the need to invest more in peace,” Borrell posted on X.

In Seoul, Borrell held the first EU-South Korea Strategic Dialogue with South Korea’s foreign minister, Cho Tae-yul, signaling Europe’s commitment to enhancing security and defense collaboration with South Korea. “We want to take security and defense cooperation to ‘the next level,’” he wrote, hinting at a stronger stance amid shifting alliances in the region.

Concerns about North Korea’s military support for Russia intensified last week when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated that North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region might soon join combat operations in Ukraine. Additionally, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui voiced Pyongyang’s commitment to “back Russia until it achieved victory,” after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

South Korean defense minister Kim Yong-hyun and Borrell discussed the implications of North Korea’s involvement. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho previously noted that Seoul is considering “all possible scenarios,” including the potential supply of weaponry to Ukraine, a step it has so far resisted. To date, Seoul has provided Ukraine with non-lethal aid, such as mine-clearance tools, avoiding direct military support.

Meanwhile, experts fear that Russia will reward North Korea’s military assistance with critical military technology, aiding Pyongyang’s ongoing efforts to enhance its missile capabilities and develop a spy satellite. North Korea has also demonstrated military advancements domestically, recently testing its powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-19.

As diplomatic pressure mounts, Borrell’s visit underscores Europe’s resolve to engage more actively with East Asian allies as the North Korean-Russian alliance complicates global security dynamics.