Sushma Swaraj meets her N Korean Counterpart, Conveys Security Concerns

News

• India’s security concerns were today conveyed to Ri Su Yong, Foreign Minister of North Korea which has close military ties with Pakistan.
• The meeting, which comes nearly a month ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Seoul, also provided an opportunity to the Indian side to re-assess its relationship with North Korea, which is under heavy economic and other sanctions from the UN and western countries.
• Swaraj reiterated India’s stand “on the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, including the objective of denuclearising “.
• The visiting minister conveyed his country’s appreciation for the humanitarian assistance provided by India to DPRK, and in this regard sought additional assistance. “The minister agreed to positively consider DPRK’s request.

Reasons

• India has been worried over Pakistan’s export of nuclear fissile material and reports that Pyongyang has been supplying missiles to Pakistan.
• Despite sanctions and other multi-national efforts, the international community has not been able to curb the deep ambitions of Pyongyang, which has conducted several nuclear tests.
• This has lead to tougher sanctions imposed on North Korean banking, travel and trade, reflecting the country’s increased international isolation.