Pyongyang will support Russia until “victory” in Ukraine, North Korea’s foreign minister in Moscow, Choe Son Hui, said on Friday. The United States has warned that thousands of North Korean troops could be sent to fight in the war against Ukraine alongside Russia in the coming days.
(RFI) “Our traditional and historically friendly relations, which have stood the test of time, are now reaching a new level,” the minister told Sergei Lavrov.
Pyongyang, she added, has no doubt that Vladimir Putin’s “wise leadership” will lead the Russian army and people “to a great victory”. Choe Son Hui reiterated that North Korea would remain “at the side of the Russian comrades” until the day of victory, after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov.
The international community estimates that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers are training in Russia and are about to enter the conflict with Ukraine, which began more than two years ago.
According to American intelligence services, some of these troops have been moved to Kursk, on the Russian border. The US and South Korea have demanded that North Korea withdraw its army.
Vladimir Putin signed a defense pact with Pyongyang in June and strengthened bilateral relations with the country. The Russian president also promised that North Korea would continue to develop its nuclear program.
The two countries did not deny the intelligence reports from Western countries citing the deployment of North Korean troops in Ukraine and did not mention the cases in their statements after the meeting.
The Russian minister praised the “ties between the armies”, which he said “will allow us to solve security objectives for the citizens of both countries”, he added, without giving further details.
Russia “grateful for help in Ukraine”
Lavrov said that Russia was “deeply grateful” to North Korea for its position on Ukraine.
Russia’s offensive in the country, launched in February 2022, has further distanced the West from Moscow, which is mainly supported by North Korea and Iran.
The Russian minister said that Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June ushered in a “new stage” in relations.
North Korea has probably already sent weapons to Russia, but the presence of troops in the country would increase tensions with the rest of the international community.
The United States said on Thursday (31) that it still had no reports of troops being sent to the front, but that this could happen “in the coming days”.
The country’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, said that the 10,000 North Korean soldiers who are on their way “could not replace the troops that the Russians lost”.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky on Thursday denounced what he described as a “lack of action” by his allies towards North Korean troops and said he was surprised by China’s “silence”.
New missile test
North Korea has tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), called Hwasong-19, according to North Korean state media, which released the information on Friday.
The Hwasong-19 reached a maximum altitude of 7,687.5 kilometers and flew 1,001.2 kilometers for 85 minutes and 56 seconds, before falling into the sea between Japan and Russia.
The North Korean state news agency KCNA called the Hwasong-19 “the most powerful strategic missile in the world”.
“The new type of ICBM has proved to the world that the hegemonic position we have achieved in the development and manufacture of nuclear delivery systems of the same type is absolutely irreversible,” said leader Kim Jong-un as he supervised the launch, KCNA reported.
The launch, carried out a few days before the US presidential election on Tuesday, November 5, was condemned by Washington and its allies in South Korea, Japan and Europe, and by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres.
With information from AFP