South Korean Minister Meets With Russian Ambassador Ahead Of Putin-Kim Summit - Reports

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published April 22, 2019 | 06:26 PM

South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul and Russian Ambassador to the country Andrey Kulik met on Monday to discuss North Korea, among other issues, as part of preparations for the upcoming summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, local media reported on Monday

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2019) South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul and Russian Ambassador to the country Andrey Kulik met on Monday to discuss North Korea, among other issues, as part of preparations for the upcoming summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, local media reported on Monday.

According to the Yonhap news agency, this meeting is part of a series of consultations the unification minister has been carrying out with foreign diplomats since taking office earlier this month. He met with the ambassadors from China, Japan and the United States last week.

"South Korea and Russia have long discussed ways for trilateral cooperation between the two Koreas and Russia since the establishment of diplomatic relations. I hope we continue close consultations down the road to realize it," Kim said, as quoted by the media outlet.

According to the Russian ambassador, such consultations would not only benefit the economy but the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. Kulik also stressed that Russia and South Korea had similar attitudes toward the peninsula's peace process and tackling the North Korean nuclear issue.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Monday that the meeting between Putin and Kim would take place before the end of April. Meanwhile, South Korean media have suggested that the talks are most likely to be held in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok. An employee of a Vladivostok train station told Sputnik last Thursday that North Korean official Kim Chang Son, who was seen in Vladivostok last Wednesday, had been examining security measures at the station.