France, South Korea unite over Ukraine war, North Korea-Russia military cooperation

France and South Korea share concerns about Pyongyang’s increasingly active support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the military assistance North Korea receives from Moscow in return.

French President Emmanuel Macron said this after talks with President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae Myung in Paris, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

“We share a common position in the face of today’s crises. We note North Korea’s increasingly open and active support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the assistance Pyongyang receives in return for developing its own military programs,” Macron said.

According to him, France and South Korea share a vision of an international order based on international law and the UN system and intend to deepen coordination on security and stability.

The South Korean president, for his part, highlighted France’s role in European efforts aimed at ending Russia’s war.

“France plays a central role in uniting efforts and mobilizing capabilities at the European level to bring an end to the war in Ukraine and restore peace. Korea is also providing Ukraine with support in many areas. We are pleased to join the international community in efforts to establish peace and rebuild Ukraine,” Lee Jae Myung said.

Macron also stressed that the two countries seek to strengthen strategic autonomy, defense cooperation, and interaction in the fields of technology and energy.

“This will help strengthen our sovereignty and independence, cooperate on the basis of mutual respect, and avoid becoming dependent on any major power as a ‘vassal.’ French–Korean relations best embody this ‘coalition of independent states’ in which we believe,” the French president said.

Macron also reaffirmed France’s unwavering support for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Among the practical steps to strengthen defense cooperation, the French president mentioned the Pégase air mission, which is due to make a stop in the Republic of Korea in the coming days. According to him, the mission demonstrates the parties’ intention to conduct regular strategic exercises, develop industrial cooperation in defense equipment, exchange information, and improve the interoperability of their armed forces.

The situation in the Middle East and ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz were also discussed by the two leaders.

“In April, I took part in an international summit devoted to the Strait of Hormuz to reaffirm Korea’s readiness to contribute to stability in the region and ensure freedom of navigation along maritime routes. Korea and France will continue to develop close cooperation to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the security of global supply chains,” Lee Jae Myung said.

Macron, for his part, recalled that France and South Korea, together with the United Kingdom, had launched coordination to establish a special international mission of an exclusively peaceful nature to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, the possibility of deploying such a multinational mission continues to be “intensively explored.”

As previously reported by Ukrinform, military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang , including the supply of ballistic missiles and personnel from North Korea, directly violates UN Security Council resolutions and prolongs the war against Ukraine.

Photo: Emmanuel Macron/X