By Feature Editor Lee Sam-sun
Over the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation on September 30, 1990, the Republic of Korea has developed a strategic cooperative partnership with Russia and have been actively engaged in political, economic, scientific and technological, and cultural exchanges with her.
According to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources, the Republic of Korea
has been actively working together to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue for a long time, and the two countries have also developed complementary and close economic cooperation.
Russia has supplied South Korea with energy, minerals, and marine products, and our companies have entered various sectors, leading the Russian automotive, shipbuilding, IT, and electronics markets.
Korea has also expanded people-to-people exchanges in the cultural and artistic fields, with growing mutual interest in K-POP and Korean content. Reciprocal visits between the Korean and Russian citizens reached 800,000 before the outbreak of COVID-19, and more than 120,000 of Korean citizens and compatriots now live in the Russian Federation.
However, the bilateral relationship is currently facing some constraints and challenges as our governments join the international community's response to the crisis in Ukraine.
However, Korea continues to closely monitor the evolving situation and its impact, actively communicate with her citizens and businesses in Russia, and steadily manages the relationship while maintaining the foundation for future development.
In particular, Korea will do her best to expand communication on the ground with the mindset of 'public-private one team' to resolve the difficulties of Korean citizens and businesses in Russia.
In addition, Korea will maintain the momentum of bilateral cooperation so that Russia can continue to play a constructive role in substantially advancing the "Bold Initiative" on the North Korean nuclear and North Korean issues.
The global tide of change triggered by the crisis in Ukraine is having a profound impact on the international landscape and global supply chains. This means that two countries have entered a different era in various fields such as security and economy where it is considered to be important for them continuously seek chances for the improvement of relations between the two countries.
In this era of change, the Korean people believe that the Korean government must continue to gather wisdom and make efforts to establish an appropriate direction so that it can proactively respond and pursue global values and national interests in a balanced manner.
The Korea Post articles on Korean-Russian relations:
http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=6145
http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=6944