Russian ambassador to South Korea summoned over defense pact with North Korea.
Under their pact, Russia and North Korea would support each other's defenses in the event of an attack. Seoul stated it may reevaluate its armaments strategy on Ukraine.
As border tensions increased due to nebulous threats and brief, apparently unintentional incursions by North Korean forces, South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to express disapproval of the nation's new defense cooperation with North Korea on Friday.
The military of South Korea said it had fired warning shots the day before to repel North Korean soldiers who had briefly crossed the rival countries' land border for the third time this month. Earlier on Friday, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued an ambiguous threat of retaliation after South Korean activists flew balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border.
That occurred two days after Seoul responded by stating it would think about arming Ukraine to repel Russia's invasion, and two days after Moscow and Pyongyang signed an agreement promising mutual defense support in the event that either was attacked.
In order to express Seoul's position on the agreement between Putin and Kim as well as the purported military collaboration between Russia and North Korea, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun called Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev. The statements made during the meeting were not immediately confirmed by Seoul's Foreign Ministry.
Psychological warfare similar to that of the Cold War has resumed along the inter-Korean border as a result of leafleting efforts led by South Korean civil society groups in recent weeks.
Under the leadership of North Korean defector Park Sang-hak, South Korean citizen activists claimed to have sent 20 balloons from the border town of Paju, South Korea, on Thursday night carrying 300,000 propaganda leaflets, 5,000 USB sticks containing South Korean pop music and TV dramas, and 3,000 US dollar bills.
Analysts believe Pyongyang dislikes such content and worries it can demoralize citizens and front-line troops, weakening Kim Jong Un's hold on power in the long run.
One of her brother's senior foreign policy advisors, Kim Yo Jong, referred to the activists as "defector scum" in a statement released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency and seemed to be threatening reprisal.
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