Seoul, US warn that North Korea-Russia military cooperation violates UN sanctions
Seoul, Sep 15 (EFE).- South Korea and the United States warned on Friday that military cooperation, particularly an arm deal, between North Korea and Russia would be a serious violation of the United Nations sanctions.
Senior diplomatic and defense officials from South Korea and the United States expressed their concern during the fourth meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG), held in Seoul.
The meeting took place two days after North Korean leader Kim Jung Un met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss military cooperation between the two countries.
“The recent reports about the potential sale of arms between North Korea and Russia are concerning and any such transfer of arms would be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Bonnie Jenkins, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, said in a press conference after the meeting.
Jenkins said Seoul and Washington “strongly condemn” the growing political and military cooperation between North Korea and Washington.
She also raised concerns about “Russia’s support for North Korea’s illegal nuclear program and North Korea’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
Jenkins warned that any nuclear attack by Pyongyang against Washington or its allies, including South Korea, would be “unacceptable and result in the end of that regime.”
South Korea’s deputy foreign minister, Chang Ho-jin, also in attendance at the EDSCG meeting, called on Russia to “act responsibly” as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
“The military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a serious violation of the UN Security Council resolutions,” Chang said.
The fourth EDSCG meeting, a bilateral mechanism established in 2017 by the US and South Korea to address the increasing threat by North Korea, took place two days after Kim and Putin held a summit at the Vostochny Cosmodrom in Russia’s far-eastern Amur region.
During the two-hour summit, Putin said that there were possibilities for bilateral military and space cooperation between the two countries.
Kim assured Putin that relations with Moscow were now Pyongyang’s “top priority,” called Russia’s war in Ukraine a “sacred fight” and reaffirmed that North Korea “supports all Putin’s decisions.”
Kim arrived in Russia on Tuesday amid strong suspicions from the West about the intention of both countries to bolster military and space cooperation through a weapons and technology supply agreement.
According to Western sources, Kim could be willing to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine with anti-tank missiles and artillery ammunition.
In return, Pyongyang could receive technology to launch satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, which would greatly strengthen the war capabilities of the North Korean regime. EFE
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