Pyongyang will support Russia until its “victory” in Ukraine, North Korea‘s foreign minister said this Friday from Moscow, after the United States warned that thousands of North Korean troops could be sent to fight in the Ukrainian conflict in the coming days.
The head of North Korean diplomacy, Choe Son Huiwas in Moscow at a time of fear on the part of Western powers, who believe that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers are training in Russia and are about to enter the conflict, which began more than two years ago, on the Russian side. .
According to US intelligence services, some of these troops moved to the Russian border region of Kursk, and Washington and Seoul warned North Korea to withdraw its army.
“We repeat that we will always stand by our Russian comrades until the day of victory,” Choe stressed in Moscow after meeting with his counterpart. Sergei Lavrov.
The diplomat affirmed that North Korea does not doubt the “wise leadership” of President Vladimir Putin, who signed a mutual defense pact with Pyongyang in June and greatly strengthened ties with the isolated Asian state.
He also promised that North Korea will continue to develop its arsenal nuclear. The West suspects that Pyongyang demands nuclear technology in exchange for their military support.
Neither country denied the reports about the troop deployment and neither Choe nor Lavrov mentioned them in their statements after their meeting.
However, the Russian minister praised the “close ties between the armies and special services of the two countries.”
“This will also allow us to resolve important security objectives for our citizens and theirs,” he added, without giving further details.
Russia says it is ‘deeply grateful’ to North Korea
Lavrov declared that Russia was “deeply grateful” to North Korea for its “principled stance” on Ukraine.
The Russian offensive in Ukraine, launched in February 2022, broke ties between the West and Moscow, whose main supporters are now North Korea e Iran.
“I really appreciate the opportunity today to speak frankly in a comradely manner,” Lavrov noted, evoking Soviet-style language.
Russia greatly strengthened its ties with its North Korean neighbor, both currently among the most sanctioned countries in the world.
Lavrov assured that Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June began a “new stage” in relations. North Korea is believed to have already sent weapons to Russia, but the presence of troops on the ground would represent a major climbing.
The United States indicated Thursday that it still has no reports that troops have been sent to combat, but that this could happen “in the coming days.”
His Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, assured that the 10,000 North Korean soldiers they believe are on the way “will not come close to replacing the troops that the Russians lost.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced on Thursday what he described as the inaction of his allies regarding North Korean troops and expressed surprise at China’s “silence.”
kyiv urged its Western partners to “lift all restrictions” on the launch of long-range missiles towards Russia after the “real escalation” with North Korea.
North Korea warns that it will not give up advancing its nuclear program
Choe Son Hui promised in Moscow that North Korea will not give up on advancing its nuclear program and accused the West of escalation on the Korean Peninsula.
The North Korean diplomat spoke a day after her country announced it had tested one of its newest and most powerful missiles to bolster its nuclear deterrent.
“I assure you once again that our country will not change course in any way in strengthening its nuclear forces,” he declared.
“Our nation’s security situation is in a very dangerous and unstable state due to the machinations of the United States and its satellites,” he said. “The situation on the Korean Peninsula could become explosive at any time.”
South Korea noted that North Korea’s deployment to Russia may also lead to “an escalation of security threats on the Korean Peninsula.”
