SEOUL, September 21. /TASS/. South Korea’s authorities have called for Russia’s constructive cooperation in the peaceful settlement on the Korean Peninsula, South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young told a meeting with Russia’s Ambassador to Seoul Andrei Kulik on Monday.

"I appreciate the friendship and solidarity that [Russia] has shown so far and ask for constructive cooperation for peace on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said, according to Yonhap news agency. "I believe that the three-way cooperation involving the South, the North and Russia is an important matter that can contribute to peace and co-prosperity in the Northeast Asian and Eurasian regions," he added.

The minister highlighted the importance of continuing humanitarian projects with North Korea. According to him, "consistent efforts on such a small-scale approach could lead to the time of trust and faith."

"In this process, cooperation from the international community, especially from Russia, is a must," Lee stressed, noting the importance of bilateral cooperation between Seoul and Moscow ahead of the 30th anniversary of establishing Russian-S. Korean diplomatic relations.

The Russian diplomatic mission said on its Facebook page that Ambassador Andrei Kulik in his turn stressed the importance of dialogue between the South and the North for the sake of ensuring peace and security in the region and searching for solutions to the existing problems by peaceful, political and diplomatic means.

The meeting with the Russian envoy to South Korea was the first for Lee In-young since he assumed office as South Korea’s unification minister in late July 2020. According to the South Korean ministry, at the talks the sides shared the opinion that the efforts on improving inter-Korean relations could bring peace and stability in the region and also agreed to continue further contacts.

Russia and South Korea established diplomatic relations on September 30, 1990.