North Korea’s Kim vows steadfast support for Russia’s war on Ukraine
SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed his country will “invariably support” Russia’s war on Ukraine as he met Russia’s defense chief, North Korean state media reported Saturday.
A Russia military delegation led by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday, amid growing international concern about the two countries’ expanding cooperation after North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia in October.
The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim and Belousov reached “a satisfactory consensus” on boosting strategic partnership and defending each country’s sovereignty, security interests and international justice in the face of the rapidly changing international security environments.
Kim said that North Korea “will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists’ moves for hegemony,” the state media agency said. North Korea has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a defensive response to what both Moscow and Pyongyang call NATO’s “reckless” eastward advance and U.S.-led moves to stamp out Russia’s position as a powerful state.
Some 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia near the Ukraine battleground. How significant is this deployment?
Kim slammed a U.S. decision in November to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles, calling it a direct intervention in the conflict. He called recent Russian strikes on Ukraine “a timely and effective measure” to demonstrate Russia’s resolve, KCNA said.
According to U.S., Ukrainian and South Korean assessments, the North has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia, and some of them have begun engaging in combat on the front lines. The U.S., South Korea and others say the North has also shipped artillery systems, missiles and other conventional weapons to replenish Russia’s exhausted inventory.
Pyongyang and Moscow haven’t formally confirmed the North Korean troops’ movements and have denied reports of weapons shipments.
Ukrainians fear Trump will cut off military aid for the war against Russia, even as Ukraine’s leader aims to win him over with congratulations and praise.
South Korea, the U.S. and their partners are concerned that Russia could give North Korea advanced weapons technology in return, including help to build more powerful nuclear missiles.
South Korean national security advisor Shin Won-sik recently said Seoul assessed that Russia has provided air defense missile systems to North Korea. He told a local TV program that Russia also appeared to have given economic assistance to North Korea and various military technologies, including those needed for the North’s efforts to build a reliable space-based surveillance system.
Belousov also met North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol on Friday. During a dinner banquet later, Belousov said the two countries’ strategic partnership was crucial to defend their sovereignty from aggression and the arbitrary actions of imperialists, North Korean state media said.
In June, Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty requiring both countries to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked. It’s considered the two countries’ biggest defense deal since the end of the Cold War.
Kim writes for the Associated Press.
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