Trade waves: South Korea is eyeing the Northern Sea Route

South Korea is showing interest in the Northern Sea Route and is also actively working in the Russian market, Russian Ambassador to Seoul Georgy Zinoviev told Izvestia. The business is developing, in particular, in the fields of the food industry and cosmetics, occupying niches vacated after the departure of Western firms. According to the diplomat, the volume of bilateral trade remains significant, although cooperation is difficult under the sanctions pressure. At the same time, the appointment of prominent Russian scholar Lee Seok-pae as ambassador to Moscow and the participation of the Russian delegation led by Alexei Overchuk in the APEC summit give hope for a gradual revival of the bilateral dialogue.

Seoul is exploring the possibilities of the NSR

South Korea is interested in developing the Northern Sea Route, Russian Ambassador to Seoul Georgy Zinoviev told Izvestia.

— The current leadership of the Republic of Korea, President Lee Jae-myung, has put forward a 123-point strategic development program for the country, one of which is dedicated to the development of cooperation along the Northern Sea Route. Everyone understands that the Northern Sea Route is, in fact, Russia, and not any other of the Arctic countries, because it runs mainly along the coast of the Russian Federation," the ambassador said.

Georgy Zinoviev noted that the project cannot be promoted without cooperation with Russia. According to him, Korean scientists are currently striving to better understand how the Northern Sea Route functions, but so far this interest is mainly theoretical.

— It is difficult to say whether this interest will translate into practice. It is obvious that the current sanctions restrictions imposed against Russia are likely to have an impact on cooperation in this area," the ambassador stressed.

In recent years, trade and economic relations between the two countries have been developing uneasily, primarily due to Seoul's restrictions on Russian exports in a number of areas. Back in 2021, according to the Korean customs, the volume of trade between the two countries was approaching $30 billion.

— Last year, the volume of mutual trade amounted to about $11 billion, and this year we see a decrease of about 10% more. Nevertheless, even at current rates, trade remains significant, especially taking into account the sanctions factor," Georgy Zinoviev said.

The business interest in the Russian market is also stable, the diplomat stressed. Georgy Zinoviev added that the South Korean firms that remained in Russia "make good profits" by occupying the niches vacated after the departure of Western brands, in particular, in the food industry and cosmetics. Speaking about large corporations such as Hyundai, LG and Samsung, the ambassador stressed that they were forced to leave our market under the pressure of sanctions.

"But I would like to draw your attention to the fact that Korean companies left very reluctantly, without making loud political statements — they became victims of circumstances related to their government's decisions," said the head of the diplomatic mission.

Pragmatism remains in the economic circles of the Republic of Kazakhstan. South Korean business perceives the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as an external problem "that has no direct relation to it," and, consequently, companies are not ready to incur losses because of this. That is why Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Electronics held their positions in Russia until the last moment. South Korean media are now writing that these corporations, as well as LG Electronics, are exploring the possibility of returning to the Russian market.

Next flight: Russia and Korea discuss restoring direct flights

Contacts between Moscow and Seoul may take place at the upcoming APEC forum.

Restoring relations between Russia and South Korea

The expert community believes that there are prospects for resuming dialogue between Moscow and Seoul. An important signal was the visit of the Russian delegation at the governmental level to the Republic of Korea, first to Busan and then to Gyeongju to participate in the APEC summit. It was headed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk.

"I would like to hope that these contacts will have a positive effect on the bilateral dialogue," Alexander Vorontsov, head of the Korea and Mongolia Department at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia. — There are no concrete practical steps yet, but expectations remain.

At the same time, measures to stabilize relations are also being taken in Seoul: the South Korean media called Lee Seok-pae's return to the post of Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Russia an indicator of the desire to improve the dialogue. He is considered one of the leading experts on the Russian Federation, and he spent most of his almost 30-year diplomatic career in our country and in the CIS countries. Lee Seok-pae is fluent in Russian.

The issue of resuming direct flights between Russia and South Korea remains on the agenda. The airlines of both countries are in constant contact, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told Izvestia.

However, there is no concrete progress yet. According to Alexander Vorontsov, the change of the president of the republic in June 2025, at least for the moment, has not led to noticeable practical changes in relations with Moscow. Lee Jae-myung, who is loyal to the Russian Federation, pursues a rather cautious policy.

— I don't see any practical steps that could be felt yet, — the expert noted. — There were expectations both in the Russian community and among Korean business and society that new signals would appear with the arrival of the new leadership.

Alexander Vorontsov stressed that the first month of the new leadership's work demonstrated the priority of relations with the United States and a restrained course towards Russia and China. As for the Northern Sea Route, the expert confirmed South Korea's interest in cooperation in this area, as well as China and Japan.

By the way, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan intends to invest 11 billion won ($8 million) in each vessel built with icebreaking potential to operate on Arctic shipping routes.

Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the HSE Center for Mediterranean Studies, noted that under the conditions of Western sanctions, Russia is particularly interested in attracting foreign investment to implement projects related to the development of the Northern Sea Route.

— The countries of the Asia-Pacific region could act as such investors on favorable terms for themselves. In turn, the Northern Sea Route offers APEC countries a competitive alternative to such congested transport bottlenecks as the Strait of Malacca and the Suez Canal," the expert told Izvestia.

According to him, using this route will significantly reduce the time of cargo delivery between Asia and Europe, reduce fuel costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.