North Korea will support Russia until its victory in Ukraine, Pyongyang’s foreign minister said in Moscow on Friday, as the United States warned that thousands of North Korean troops could be sent to fight 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 soldiers are training in Russia and are about to enter the more than two-year conflict on Russia’s side.
US intelligence has said some of the troops headed to the Kursk border region, and Washington and Seoul have warned North Korea to withdraw its military.
“We will always firmly support our Russian comrades until the day of victory,” Choe declared in Moscow after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
He said North Korea had no doubts about the “wise leadership” of President Vladimir Putin, who signed a mutual assistance pact with Pyongyang this summer and greatly strengthened ties with the isolated state.
In this photo released by the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday, November 1, 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, and North Korean Foreign Minister, Choe Son Hui attend an unveiling ceremony for the plaque commemorating Kim Il Sung’s visit to 1949. USSR
Choe Son Hui has said that North Korea will support Russia until its victory in Ukraine
His comments come after President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual assistance pact with Pyongyang this summer.
Choe called Moscow’s more than two-year offensive in Ukraine a “sacred struggle.”
He also vowed that North Korea will continue to develop its nuclear arsenal, as Pyongyang is widely suspected of wanting nuclear technology from Russia in exchange for military support.
Neither country has denied the reports of troop deployments, nor did Son Hui and Lavrov mention them in their statements after their talks.
However, Lavrov praised the “very 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.
Lavrov said Russia was “deeply grateful” for North Korea’s “principled stance” on Ukraine.
Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, launched in February 2022, severed its ties with the West, while North Korea and Iran have become Russia’s main backers, both believed to be supplying troops to Moscow.
“I really appreciate the opportunity today to speak frankly and in a comradely manner,” Lavrov said, evoking Soviet-style language.
Russia has greatly improved ties with its North Korean neighbor, and Moscow and Pyongyang are now among the most sanctioned countries in the world.
It comes after a video purportedly showing North Korean soldiers in Russia emerged earlier this month.
Kim Jong Un has reportedly sent 12,000 troops to support Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine.
Lavrov said Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in July began a “new stage” of relations.
North Korea is believed to have already sent weapons to Moscow, but troops on the ground would mark a major escalation.
The United States said Thursday that it has not yet seen troops sent to combat, but that this could happen “in the coming days.”
But his Defense Secretary, Llyod Austin, said the 10,000 North Koreans believed to be on the way “will not come close to replacing the numbers the Russians have lost.”
He said the United States will soon announce new military aid for Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday denounced what he called the inaction of his allies against North Korean troops and said he was surprised by China’s “silence.”
kyiv urged Western partners to “lift all restrictions” on firing long-range missiles at Russia following the “real escalation” with North Korea.
North Korea’s Choe Son Hui vowed in Moscow that the country will not give up advancing its nuclear program and accused the West of raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
This image, taken on October 2, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center, left) inspecting a Korean People’s Army special operations forces training base.
She spoke a day after North Korea said it had tested one of its newest and most powerful missiles to boost its nuclear deterrent, in a move criticized by the West.
“I assure you once again that our country will not change course in any way regarding the strengthening of its nuclear forces,” he said.
“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,” he added.
South Korea has said North Korea’s deployment to Russia could intensify security threats on the Korean Peninsula and that Pyongyang will likely request Russian technology transfers to aid its weapons programs.