Russia, South Korea Bilateral Relations: September 2025 Update

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, met with Cho Hyun, the Foreign Minister of South Korea on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

In the context of the developments on the Korean Peninsula, the Russian side noted the provocative nature of the United States and its Asian allies’ military activities aimed against North Korea, as well as their policy of increasing sanctions and military pressure on Pyongyang. Special emphasis was placed on a return to a mutually respectful dialogue based on the current realities on the peninsula in the interest of building a reliable mechanism for ensuring long-term peace and stability in Northeast Asia. With Russia and North Korea now at the strategic partner level, Russia’s unofficial trade with the North is now probably higher than its official trade with South Korea.

South Korea has taken part in Western sanctions against Russia, with bilateral trade at US$11.9 billion in 2024, dropping steadily for the past three years.

However, there are signs that this stance is now weakening. Illustrating this are LG’s recent trial run of restarting its factory operations in Moscow, FESCO’s increase of shipping capacity from Vladivostok to South Korea’s Gwangyang Port, and Ssangyong auto’s planned return to the Russian market.

Other Russian exports to South Korea are also on the rise, with Kamchatka crab, Siberian wood pellets other sea food and aluminium also being sent to the country.