CCTV News reported that recently, the South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to South Korea to protest the signing of a treaty between Russia and North Korea to deepen military cooperation. Not long ago, the DPRK leader and Russian President Putin signed the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty" in Pyongyang. Putin said that the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty" signed by Russia and the DPRK is a breakthrough document that will raise the cooperation between the two countries to a new level. The treaty stipulates that in the event of aggression against any of the parties, the other party will provide assistance to them. Reference news quoted RIA Novosti as a recent report that Yonhap News Agency quoted the South Korean presidential office as saying that South Korea intends to expand export restrictions to Russia in response to the move of Russia and North Korea to conclude a treaty.
Although, the South Korean side plans to add 243 items restricted to exports to Russia, bringing the total number of items on the South Korean sanctions list against Russia to 1,402. However, South Korea's "severe" countermeasures this time cannot help but make people sigh, and it seems to be retaliation, but in fact it is fruitless. The scale of trade between Russia and South Korea is already negligible, and South Korea followed the United States and Western countries in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict by imposing comprehensive sanctions on Russia, covering all sanctionable categories. However, the actual impact of South Korea's new 243 new restricted items on the Russian economy is minimal. It is not difficult for a discerning person to see that this sanction is just a formalism, and South Korea does not dare to take any really forceful substantive action against Russia.
In addition, the South Korean presidential office also issued a warning to Russia in recent days, saying that "the issue of military aid to Ukraine will be re-examined." The next day, the South Korean presidential office once again warned that the level of South Korea's military aid to Ukraine depends on Russia's attitude in the future. A few days later, Jang Ho-jin, director of South Korea's National Security Office, warned again that if Russia provided high-precision weapons to North Korea, South Korea's military aid to Ukraine would be unlimited. Before becoming the head of the National Security Office, Jang served as South Korea's ambassador to Russia. For a time, "South Korea warns Russia" appeared on the hot search. In this regard, during his recent visit to Vietnam, Putin reminded the South Korean side that there is no need to worry, and also warned South Korea by name that it would be a "very big mistake" to supply weapons to Ukraine.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Im so-seok recently said that the South Korean government warned Russia "not to make mistakes", and the spokesman also said that South Korea urged Russia to get rid of its dependence on North Korea and fulfill its responsibilities as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. According to TASS, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said the day before yesterday that "in response to the South Korean government's announcement that it will reconsider its position on supplying weapons to Ukraine, we would like to warn South Korea not to take careless actions that could cause irreversible consequences in Russian-South Korean relations." In addition, Zakharova advised the South Korean authorities to get rid of their "fanatical dependence" on the United States, stop being a vassal of the United States and realistically assess the new situation on the Korean Peninsula.
In the face of the signing of the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty" between Russia and the DPRK, if the ROK says that it is not nervous, it must be false. The reason is simple: it is afraid that the military confrontation on the peninsula will be unbalanced. According to a reference report, the first official of the South Korean Foreign Ministry, that is, Vice Minister Kim Yeon-kyun, may stress to the Russian side that the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia "violates the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and has an adverse impact on the regional situation and South Korea-Russia relations." If Jin Yanjun really said this to the Russian side, it is indeed funny. After all, Russia is one of the permanent members of the Security Council, and South Korea is not! In other words, Russia may have more power to interpret Security Council resolutions than South Korea. After all, Russia has a veto in the Security Council!
On the South Korean side, First Vice Minister Kim Yeon-gyun also showed no weakness, stressing that the DPRK-Russia military cooperation poses a threat to the national security of the ROK, and if this is not handled well, it will be a big blow to the relations between the ROK and Russia. He also said South Korea would work with its allies to resolutely confront any unfavorable practices related to South Korea's national security. Russia believes that cooperation with the DPRK is a normal exchange between the two sovereign states, which is not aimed at any third party, and does not pose a threat to regional security. During the summons, Russian Ambassador Zinoviev stressed that their cooperation is open and transparent and acts completely within the framework of international law.
In addition, not long ago, the South Korean side publicly expressed its so-called "concern" about what happened at Ren'ai Jiao. In this regard, our side has openly expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition. It is worth noting that in the statement issued by our side, there are words on the ROK side that "despite China's repeated opposition". Then we have reason to believe that our side has repeatedly ("repeatedly") made representations and communicated with the ROK side before making such erroneous remarks, and we hope that the ROK side will not make such erroneous remarks out of consideration for international justice and justice and the exchanges between China and the ROK. However, it is clear that the South Korean side is still bent on going its own way, insisting on putting its beak on the Ren'ai Jiao issue.
Recently, there have been frequent interactions between China and the ROK, and the ROK Foreign Minister recently concluded his visit to China, and the 2+2 Dialogue on Diplomacy and Security between the Vice Ministries of China and the ROK is also striking while the iron is hot. During the China-ROK dialogue, the ROK earnestly hopes that China will continue to take a firm stand and continue to play its role on the issue of denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula. In addition, South Korea also mentioned the issue of "North Korean defectors" and also hopes that China can repatriate these "North Korean defectors". South Korea raised these two questions with a very purposeful purpose, which is to coax China to "take sides." China has its own position on this, but this is not the answer that South Korea wants. The situation on the peninsula is tense, and the responsibility lies entirely with South Korea and the United States. However, South Korea learns from US hegemonism and creates contradictions and expands incidents if it does not get what it wants.
Recently, China and the Philippines had a fierce confrontation at Second Thomas Shoal, which was caused by a deliberate provocation by the Philippines in a vain attempt to help the beached warship permanently occupy Chinese territory by transporting supplies, seriously undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea. However, in the past, China has been extremely patient with the Philippine side's provocative actions, and has repeatedly persuaded the Philippine side to resolve the issue through dialogue. Against this backdrop, the China Coast Guard has taken control measures against Philippine vessels in accordance with the law, such as warnings, interceptions, boarding inspections, and forced evictions, and has handled them in a reasonable, legal, professional and standardized manner. However, after suffering a loss, the Philippine side even began to sell miserably, vainly hoping that China would compensate it in an attempt to create a false impression of being "bullied".
In this regard, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Korea said that Ren'ai Jiao is an integral part of China's Nansha Islands, and China's indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, including Ren'ai Jiao, and its adjacent waters, which has sufficient historical and legal basis. The current tense situation in the South China Sea is clear that it is the Philippines, not China, that deliberately creates incidents, changes the status quo, violates international law, and undermines peace and stability in the South China Sea. South Korea is not a party to the South China Sea issue, but recently it has frequently made irresponsible remarks and pointed fingers on the South China Sea issue, hurting the feelings of the Chinese people. This will not help maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, let alone the development of China-ROK relations.
In fact, the attitude of the South Korean government on this matter is closely related to its foreign policy. Since Yoon Suk-yeol took office, the South Korean government's foreign policy has changed significantly, and its ties with the United States have become increasingly close. They even did not hesitate to sacrifice relations with their neighbors, such as "rapprochement" with Japan, in exchange for the support of the United States. On the issue of Ren'ai Jiao, South Korea has also sided with the United States, apparently trying to curry favor with the United States. However, this approach by the South Korean government has not really increased its international influence. On the contrary, it could tarnish South Korea's image in the international community. On the issue of Ren'ai Jiao, the mainland has already expressed its firm stand and determination. We will continue to take vigorous measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In addition, recently, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, in accordance with the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce, decided to continue to impose anti-dumping duties on imported styrene originating in South Korea, Taiwan and the United States for a period of 5 years. Recently, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference. He Yadong, deputy director and spokesperson of the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce, introduced at the meeting that on June 21, 2023, at the application of the styrene industry in Chinese mainland, the Ministry of Commerce launched an end-of-term review investigation on the anti-dumping measures applied to imported styrene originating in South Korea, Taiwan and the United States in accordance with the law. The review investigation found that if the anti-dumping measures were terminated, the dumping and injury would continue or recur.
The Ministry of Commerce will continue to impose anti-dumping duties on imported styrene originating in South Korea, Taiwan and the United States for a period of five years. The impact of this incident on South Korea is still relatively large, styrene is an important basic organic chemical raw material, and South Korea is one of the main exporters of styrene, styrene export revenue accounts for a considerable proportion of their foreign trade income. It is reported that many large factories in South Korea rely on styrene to eat, all export styrene, including Lotte Chemical, SK General Chemical and other styrene producers, now we impose anti-dumping duties on South Korea's imports of styrene, which will face greater pressure on South Korea!