SEOUL, November 14. /TASS/. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told The Associated Press (AP) in an interview that he would discuss "international response" to the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco this week.

According to the South Korean leader, he will raise the issue of "long-reaching security implications" of the cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang as well as "international response." "The two countries’ military cooperation <...> undermines the universal rules-based international order," Yoon emphasized.

The South Korean president also warned that what he said were North Korea’s provocations would result in retaliation from the Republic of Korea and the United States. "An effective way to prevent North Korea from miscalculating is to demonstrate our robust deterrence capabilities and determination towards North Korea based on the solid (South Korea)-US joint defense posture," he said in the interview. Also, there are concerns that the US’s preoccupation with the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East might prompt Pyongyang to launch surprise attacks against South Korea, the AP said.

On November 11, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed Western allegations of an "illegal" military partnership between Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as groundless and unsubstantiated. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed as rumors Washington’s claims that Pyongyang has been sending military assistance to Moscow.