Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul (second from left in front row) on Nov. 26 attends an outreach session for the Indo-Pacific region at the Group of Seven Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Fiuggi, Italy. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

By Park Hye Ri

Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul has urged heightened global vigilance over North Korea's deployment of soldiers to Russia at the Group of Seven (G7) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Fiuggi, Italy. 

"North Korea is the first Asian country in history to send troops to a European battlefield at the request of a European country," he said.

Minister Cho on Nov. 26 attended an outreach session for the Indo-Pacific region at the Group of Seven (G7) Foreign Ministers' Meeting under the theme of strengthening the Indo-Pacific's regional cooperation and connectivity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Nov. 27.

The forum discussed the situation in the region including illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, diplomacy and security, and higher collaboration between Korea and the G7. 

"Not since the 1950s has the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific been so closely related," Minister Cho said. "To stop the illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, we need close cooperation of the international community such as likeminded countries in Europe and the Indo-Pacific."

Explaining Seoul’s diplomacy initiative pursued within the framework of its Indo-Pacific strategy including cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Pacific island countries, he added, "We need to maintain peace and stability in regional waters like the South China Sea and respect the rule of international law."

"We must maintain a rule-based international order to tackle complicated global crises such as geopolitical competition and fragmentation of the global economic order," he said. "As a major country in the Indo-Pacific region, Korea will continue working with the G7 on many pending issues."

On the sidelines of the summit in Italy, the minister held bilateral talks on raising practical cooperation with major participating countries like France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Ukraine, Indonesia and India.

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