New partnership: A file photo of Putin (left) and Kim exchanging documents during a signing ceremony in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. — AP
THE country urged Russia to stop its “illegal cooperation” with Pyongyang and voiced “grave concern as Moscow moved to ratify its defence treaty with North Korea.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned shortly after that Russia was planning to send North Korean troops into battle against his country as early as today, and urged world leaders sto pile “tangible pressure” on Pyongyang.
Russian lawmakers voted unanimously on Thursday to ratify a defence treaty with North Korea that provides for “mutual assistance” if either party faces aggression. It will now be sent to the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, for approval.
According to South Korea and the United States, thousands of North Korean troops were training in Russia.
Ukraine said this week that North Korean soldiers had arrived in the “combat zone” in Russia’s Kursk border region.
While stopping short of confirming boots on the ground, a North Korean official said any troop deployment to Russia would be in line with international law.
The South Korean government said it “strongly urges the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops and the cessation of illegal cooperation”.
Seoul “expresses grave concern over Russia’s ratification of the Russia-North Korea treaty amidst the ongoing deployment of North Korean troops to Russia,” the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.
Seoul said it would work with allies to “take appropriate measures” over the move, and the country – a major arms exporter – has suggested it could revise its longstanding policy that prevents sending weapons directly to Kyiv.
The national security advisors of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Friday discussed the North Korean troop deployment, the White House said, with the officials expressing “grave concern” at the development.
“This deployment is the latest in a series of concerning indicators of deepening military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, using the acronym for the official name of North Korea.
Zelenskyy said North Korean troops could be sent to fight Ukrainian troops this weekend.
“The actual involvement of North Korea in hostilities should be met not with a blind eye and confused comments but with tangible pressure on both Moscow and Pyongyang to comply with the UN Charter and to punish escalation,” he said on social media.
Putin said in an interview that aired Friday that it was up to Moscow how it uses the new defence treaty’s clause on mutual military assistance.
“It’s our sovereign decision, whether we use something or not,” Putin said. “Where, how, whether we need this, or (if) we, for example, only carry out some exercises, training, passing on some experience – that’s our business.”
A diplomatic official in Pyongyang argued that his country would be well within its rights to deploy soldiers on Russian soil.
“If there is such a thing that the world media is talking about, I think it will be an act conforming with the regulations of international law,” said Kim Jong Gyu, North Korea’s vice foreign minister in charge of Russian affairs. — AFP
