Soviet Union, S. Korea to Establish Full Ties : Diplomacy: They will exchange envoys next Jan. 1. Moscow also says it is restoring consular ties with Israel.

The Soviet Union obliterated two of the remaining remnants of the diplomatic divisions of the Cold War on Sunday by establishing full diplomatic relations with South Korea and restoring consular ties with Israel.

Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze hammered out the details of the agreements in back-to-back meetings with Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy and South Korean Foreign Minister Choi Ho Joong in the offices of the U.N. Security Council president.

By upgrading its relations with two staunch American allies, the Soviet Union stole a march on the United States, which Saturday held its first high-level talks with Moscow’s ally, Vietnam, in more than 15 years but stopped far short of establishing diplomatic ties.

“As of today, full diplomatic relations are in place between the Republic of Korea and the Soviet Union,” Shevardnadze told reporters with Choi at his side. “I think it is a normal, logical process.”

A joint communique said that Moscow and Seoul would exchange ambassadors next Jan. 1.

“The two sides are convinced that this step will contribute to enhancing stability and to a peaceful settlement on the Korean Peninsula,” the communique said.

Shevardnadze said that in addition to establishing consular relations with Israel, he and Levy agreed to meet regularly, perhaps clearing the way to establishment of full diplomatic relations later.

Ever since the Korean Peninsula was divided in 1945 into Communist-ruled North Korea and anti-Communist South Korea, the Soviet Union has maintained friendly ties only with the regime in the North.

Shevardnadze said that Moscow’s decision to establish relations with Seoul would not change the Soviet relationship with the North Korean government in Pyongyang. Choi added, “We hope that the Soviet Union will continue to have good relations with North Korea.”

Nevertheless, the action is a dramatic setback to North Korea’s Stalinist-style government and its aging leader, Kim Il Sung. It leaves China as North Korea’s only remaining patron.

“We believe that establishing diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and South Korea will aid the cause of stability in Asia and the Pacific region,” Shevardnadze said.

The Soviet Union and Israel broke diplomatic relations during the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 when Moscow sided with the Arabs. Paradoxically, the Soviet-Israeli chill lasted for more than a decade after Egypt, which fielded the largest Arab army in the war, established diplomatic relations with Israel.

Contacts between the Soviet Union and Israel began to ease in 1987, when the Soviets posted a delegation in Tel Aviv that operated through the Finnish Embassy. A year later, Israel established a low-level mission in Moscow under the auspices of the Netherlands Embassy.

“This means we will no longer need the offices of the Netherlands Embassy in Moscow,” said Yuval Rotem, a spokesman for Israel’s U.N. mission. “Now, we will be able to grant visas to immigrants on our own.”

Rotem said that Ariel Levine, head of the present Israeli mission in Moscow, would probably be named consul general.

The action chips away at the bipolar world of the Cold War in which the United States and the Soviet Union led rival and antagonistic camps. Moscow’s decision to establish relations with South Korea came just three days after North Korea proposed opening talks with Japan in November to establish diplomatic ties.

North Korea, aided by Chinese troops, fought a bitter war with South Korea and its allies, including the United States, from 1950 to 1953. The dividing line between the two Koreas remains one of the tensest borders in the world, now that the Berlin Wall has fallen and East-West hostility in Europe is virtually at an end.

The United States maintains more than 43,000 troops in Korea 37 years after the war ended in an uneasy truce.

Choi said he hopes that both South Korea and North Korea will soon be admitted to the United Nations. The rival regimes now have only observer status at the world forum.

“I very much stressed that on the principle of universality, Korea should have its rightful place in the United Nations,” Choi told a press conference.

North Korea has opposed membership for both states on the grounds that such a solution would perpetuate the division of the peninsula. Pyongyang has suggested sharing a single seat until the two Koreas are able to unify.

Choi said Shevardnadze agreed that the question of U.N. membership should be discussed between the two Korean states. But he added, “If we cannot find common ground, we will have to make our own decision.”

Asked if Seoul would agree to share the seat, he snapped: “No, no. Impossible.”

Choi said that the prime ministers of the two Koreas will meet in Pyongyang on Oct. 16. The talks would be a follow-up to a meeting between the prime ministers in Seoul earlier this month which marked the highest-level political contact since the peninsula was divided at the end of World War II.

“We will try to change the North Korean position,” Choi said. “We have a good example with Germany and Yemen before us.” Divided Yemen and Germany both have recently unified or agreed to do so, even though their once antagonistic halves each had enjoyed full U.N. membership.

Choi said he and Shevardnadze agreed that Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and South Korean President Roh Tae Woo would exchange visits soon, although no date has been set.