▲ Unification Minister Chung Dong-young shakes hands with Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel during a meeting in Seoul on Feb. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)

unification minister-Dutch FM

Unification minister requests Netherlands play bigger role for peace on Korean Peninsula

SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Chung Dong-young requested Tuesday that the Netherlands play a bigger role in the international community regarding ongoing negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, saying the outcome is connected to peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Chung made the request during a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel as negotiations continued between Ukraine and Russia to end their yearslong conflicts. North Korea has dispatched more than 10,000 soldiers to fight on Russia's side, further complicating the war's landscape.

"Russia and Ukraine are currently holding peace talks. This issue is interconnected with the issue of establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula," Chung said. "I ask that the Dutch minister raise his voice more in the international community for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

The Dutch minister said that the North's involvement in the war has turned the challenges the regime poses to South Korea into challenges faced by the Netherlands, despite the geographical distance between the two nations

He called the Russia-North Korean military alignment "toxic," saying this is harming European security not only because of the mobilization of North Korean soldiers and weapons, but also because of what the North gets from Russia in exchange.

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