Seoul praises Russia’s role in maintaining peace on Korean Peninsula - president

SEOUL, November 13. /TASS/. Seoul appreciates Moscow’s contribution to maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said in a joint interview with the major news agencies in the Asia-Pacific region, including TASS. "As an important partner of Korea for cooperation on the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula, Russia has so far made significant contributions to deterring the North's provocative acts, upholding the unwavering principle of zero tolerance for the North's possession of nuclear weapons," Park said in written answers to questions by the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA). South Korea’s government "will work more closely with Russia in seeking to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and come forward for dialogue and cooperation," the president said. "The resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula will add new impetus to progress not only in Korea-Russia relations but also in the development of the Russian Far East," Park said. The president reminded that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Russia. "Over the past 25 years, our two countries have steadily advanced bilateral relations in various sectors, including political, economic, social and cultural areas," she said. The two countries have had a series of high-level talks and exchange events, including the Eurasia Friendship Express 2015 project, which ended successfully last July thanks to active support from Russia and "served as an opportunity to reconfirm the potential for progress in forward-looking bilateral relations." "The Korean government's Eurasian Initiative and President Putin's Eurasian strategies share the same goals and vision of promoting peace and co-prosperity on the Eurasian continent. For the realization of this vision, the Korean government will work more closely with Russia," the president said. South Korea will jointly pursue the Rajin-Khasan Project for logistics cooperation with North Korea and Russia and "enhance new future cooperation in the region." The project envisages the shipment of Russian coal through the North Korean port of Rajin to South Korea. The Eurasian Initiative will connect rail and road networks between South Korea and Europe through the territory of North Korea, Russia and China. Read more