Russia Says South Korea Has Supporters of Normalizing Ties With Moscow

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has said South Korea has domestic supporters of normalizing relations with Moscow, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Rudenko was cited as saying that relations between the two countries could hardly improve "unless the South Korean authorities refuse to participate in the collective West's sanctions policy against Russia," a reference to the sanctions Seoul has joined alongside the United States, European Union and other allies since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The report did not specify who in South Korea Rudenko identified as supporting normalization, nor did it detail the venue or date of his remarks. South Korea, a close US security ally with significant economic ties to both Russia and China, has generally aligned with Western sanctions on Moscow while maintaining more limited direct involvement compared with some European allies, particularly regarding arms transfers to Ukraine.

Russia-South Korea relations have been strained since 2022 over Seoul's participation in the sanctions regime and its provision of humanitarian and, at times, indirect military-adjacent support to Ukraine, while Moscow has simultaneously deepened ties with North Korea, including a mutual defense pact, a development that has further complicated Seoul's calculus toward Russia.

The report did not include a response from South Korean officials to Rudenko's remarks, nor did it clarify whether his comments were part of a broader statement on Russian foreign policy priorities in East Asia.