Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul has urged the Group of 20 (G20) countries to play active roles in addressing escalating military threats from North Korea, his office said Friday.

Cho made the appeal during a session of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the ministry.

He also called for concerted efforts to respond to growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, as well as the North’s illicit activities that violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Stressing there is “no alternative” to resolving global crises other than through multilateralism, he called on G20 countries to look beyond geopolitical confrontation and strengthen cooperation in such issues as climate change and digital transformation.

On Ukraine, Cho reiterated Seoul’s commitment to continuing to provide assistance to the war-torn country to help its reconstruction efforts.

South Korea recently joined the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukra
ine, a multinational donor group that coordinates financial assistance and reconstruction plans for Ukraine.

This week’s gathering marked the first multilateral talks that Cho participated in since he took office last month.

Cho also held separate bilateral talks with his counterparts from Japan, Canada, Indonesia and other member countries.

The G20 members comprise 19 countries, the European Union and the African Union.