First Vice Foreign Minister meets German Foreign Minister... "concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Russia."

Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun met with Deputy Foreign Minister Thomas Barger in Berlin, Germany, on the 2nd local time and discussed bilateral relations and military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

Vice Minister Kim assessed that cooperation in the defense sector, including Germany's accession to the UNC in August, at a time when security links between the Indo-Pacific region and Europe were deepening, and expected to strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Barger also said the relationship between the two countries is developing closer than ever, hoping that the two countries will continue the momentum of active high-level exchanges and expand their cooperative horizons.

After sharing recent trends in military cooperation with North Korea, including the dispatch of North Korean troops to Russia, the vice ministers of the two countries expressed deep concern that such actions seriously threaten the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.

Following Germany, Vice Minister Kim will visit Spain to hold the Korea-Spain Strategic Dialogue.