SEOUL, February 4. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has visited Seoul and held talks with his South Korean counterpart Chung Byung-won, discussing global issues, including the situation in Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea reported.

The talks took place on February 2. "Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko visited the Republic of Korea as he met Deputy Minister Chung Byung-won on February 2. They discussed the pressing issues of bilateral relations and the global situation, including the war in Ukraine," the report said.

Moreover, the South Korean side informed about its position on "Russia’s military cooperation with North Korea, and called for Russia’s responsible conduct." Seoul also asked for assistance in providing the legal rights and interests of South Korean businesses and citizens on the territory of Russia.

On February 3, South Korea's foreign ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinovyev over a recent statement by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova about the reasons behind escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. On the same day South Korean media issued a statement citing the country’s foreign ministry, which called the use of the term "special military operation" relating to the situation in Ukraine an attempt to allegedly "mislead the international community." Russia’s ambassador stressed at the meeting at South Korea’s foreign ministry that such statements are unacceptable.