Some have criticized president-elect Park Geun-hye's reference to the Soviet Union--"the Soviet Union did not fall because they did not have nuclear weapons"--as diplomatically inappropriate.

On February 13, Park attended a meeting of the subcommittee on foreign affairs, defense and unification at the Presidential Transition Committee and said, "North Korea may strengthen their nuclear capabilities by carrying out as many nuclear tests as they want. But if they become isolated in the international community and waste their power by impoverishing their people, they will eventually bring about their own demise."

She then added, "They should be aware that the Soviet Union did not fall because they did not have nuclear weapons." Park's reference to the former Soviet Union blazed the front page headlines in some Korean newspapers. U.S. media including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal also quoted this sentence, reporting that the president-elect showed the harshest reaction against North Korea.

A researcher of Russia who asked to remain anonymous said, "Park's statement may have been triggered by her intention to criticize North Korea's nuclear test and urge the North to head toward the right direction. But her reference to the Soviet Union in the process was not appropriate. The Russians who remember the collapse of the former Soviet Union as part of their painful history were probably not so pleased with her words."

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said, "The Russian government did lodge a protest on the president-elect's statement. We believe the statement has no problems diplomatically since she did not directly refer to Russia."

Another government official said, "Ever since North Korea's nuclear test, the foreign press has been highly interested in the course of Park Geun-hye's trust-building process on the Korean peninsula, so they had focused intensely on her statement that day. She needs to be careful with every word she speaks in order to avoid any misunderstandings, for a president's words have many listeners."

South Korea is in need for cooperation with Russia to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. The Soviet Union was formally dissolved when President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned in December 1991.

The Russian Federation succeeded the former state, along with its international rights and relations under international law including its status as a member of the UN Security Council. Most Russians consider the Soviet Union as their homeland, which once existed in history.