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Agence France-Presse

North Korea will stand by Russia until its victory in Ukraine, Pyongyang’s foreign minister said in Moscow on Friday, as the US has warned thousands of North Korean troops could be sent to combat in the Ukraine conflict in the coming days.
North Korea’s Choe Son Hui was in Moscow as the West believes up to 10,000 North Korean troops are training in Russia and on the brink of entering the more than two-year conflict on Russia’s side.
US intelligence has said some of the troops have made their way to the Kursk border region, with Washington and Seoul warning North Korea to withdraw its army.
“We will always stand firmly by our Russian comrades until victory day,” Choe declared in Moscow after talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
She said North Korea had no doubt in the “wise leadership” of President Vladimir Putin, who signed a mutual assistance pact with Pyongyang this summer and massively warmed ties with the reclusive state.
Choe called Moscow’s more than two year offensive in Ukraine a “sacred struggle”.

She also vowed that North Korea will continue to develop its nuclear arsenal, with Pyongyang widely suspected of wanting nuclear technology from Russia in exchange for military support.
Neither country has denied the troop deployment reports, but neither Choe nor Lavrov mentioned them in their statements after their talks.
Lavrov did however laud “very close ties” between the two countries “armies and special services”.
“This will also make it possible to solve significant security aims for our citizens and yours,” he added, without giving details.
Lavrov said Russia was “deeply grateful” for North Korea’s “principled stance” on Ukraine.
Russia’s Ukraine offensive, launched in February 2022, severed its ties with the West, while North Korea and Iran have emerged as Russia’s main backers, with both believed to be supplying Moscow’s troops.
“I really appreciate today’s opportunity to talk frankly in a comradely manner,” Lavrov said, evoking Soviet-style language.

Russia has improved ties with its North Korean neighbour, with Moscow and Pyongyang now among the most sanctioned countries in the world.
Lavrov said Putin’s July visit to Pyongyang launched a “new stage” of relations.
North Korea is already believed to have sent weapons to Moscow, but troops on the ground would mark a major escalation.
The US said on Thursday it has not yet seen troops sent into combat, but that this could happen “in the coming days.”
But its Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the 10,000 North Koreans believed to be on their way “will not come close to replacing the numbers that the Russians have lost.”
He said the US will announce new military aid for Kyiv soon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday denounced what he called inaction by his allies on North Korean troops and said he was surprised by the “silence” of China.
Kyiv urged Western partners to “lift all the restrictions” on firing long-range missiles into Russia after the “true escalation” with North Korea.


North Korea’s Choe vowed in Moscow that the country will not give up advancing its nuclear programme and accused the West of escalating tensions in the Korea peninsula.
She spoke a day after North Korea said it test-fired one of its newest and most powerful missiles to boost its nuclear deterrent, in a move slammed by the West.
“I once again assure you that our country will in no way change course on the straightening of its nuclear forces,” she said.
“The security situation of our nation is in a very dangerous and unstable state because of the machinations of the US and its satellites,” she said.
“The situation on the Korean peninsula could become explosive at any time,” she added.
South Korea has said that North Korea’s deployment to Russia could escalate security threats on the Korean peninsula, and that Pyongyang is likely to ask for Russian technology transfers to aid its weapons programmes.


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North Korea

North Korea to stand by Russia until ‘victory’ in Ukraine, will expand its nuclear arsenal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, (right), and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui attend an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung’s 1949 visit to USSR, at Yaroslavsky railway terminal in Moscow, Russia on Friday. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/AP

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, second left, speaks with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, second right, in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/AP

Soldiers march in a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 9, 2018. Photo: AP

Ukraine war: what does North Korea gain by sending troops to Russia?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a welcoming ceremony in Pyongyang. Photo: dpa

A TV broadcast in Seoul showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting a missile base at a location in North Korea. Photo: dpa

A North Korean representative speaking in the UN General Assembly. North Korea has denied sending troops to Russia to help Moscow fight Ukraine. Photo: AFP

North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine, US says

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin give a joint press conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un share a toast during a reception at the Mongnangwan Reception House in Pyongyang in June. Sputnik via TNS

Is North Korea’s latest missile test a distraction from troops supply to Russia?

An image released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Thursday shows the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile during a test-fire at an undisclosed location in the country. Photo: KCNA via KNS / AFP

A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on Thursday. Photo: AFP

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un (left) visiting a strategic missile base at an undisclosed location in the country. Photo: KCNA via KNS / AFP

Will South Korea give ‘lethal’ help to Kyiv if North Korean troops fight in Ukraine?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects an army special forces training base. Photo: dpa

South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, right, meets with Russian ambassador to Seoul Georgy Zinoviev in Seoul on Monday. Photo: AP

A TV image of what is believed to be North Korean soldiers queuing to get supplies from Russia. Photo: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un at an event to mark their new partnership in Pyongyang in June. Photo: AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects troops at an undisclosed location in March. Photo: EPA-EFE

South Korea mulls missile aid for Ukraine amid fears about North Korean troops in Russia

South Korea is considering supplying Ukraine with retired HAWK surface-to-air missiles, amid concerns that North Korean troops could be deployed to fight for Russia. Photo: Wikipedia

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has warned of a “grave situation” if North Korean forces join the conflict in Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool

A TV screen shows an image of soldiers believed to be from North Korea standing in line to receive supplies from Russia during a news programme at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on October 21. Photo: AP

The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. Photo: Wikipedia

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) welcomes North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui during their meeting in the Moscow on January 16. Photo: EPA-EFE/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool

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Comments from North Korea’s foreign minister comes as the US warns thousands of Pyongyang’s troops could be deployed to the Ukraine conflict


Comments from North Korea’s foreign minister comes as the US warns thousands of Pyongyang’s troops could be deployed to the Ukraine conflict.
