Declassified files show S. Korea sought to end NK-Russia treaty in 1990s

South Korea sought to persuade Russia to scrap its treaty with North Korea in the mid-1990s, declassified documents showed Tuesday, drawing a contrast to the countries' current relations as Moscow closely aligns with Pyongyang. Seoul engaged in efforts to drive a wedge between the North and Russia to bring about the termination of their friendship and cooperation treaty, which was set to expire in 1996, according to diplomatic dossiers from 1995, released by the foreign ministry. North Korea and the then Soviet Union signed the treaty in 1961 during a visit by the North's then leader Kim Il-sung to Moscow. The pact was effectively seen as a military alliance as it required the parties to provide military assistance if the other came under attack. The 1990s marked a period when South Korea stepped up efforts to build ties with formerly Soviet-aligned socialist states, including those in Eastern Europe, in the post-Cold War landscape. Seoul and Moscow established diplomatic relations in 1990, a move that dealt a heavy blow to Pyongyang. The dossiers revealed that Gong Ro-myung, South Korea

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