Putin acknowledged sending North Korean military personnel to Russia for possible participation in the war against Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia will use the first North Korean military in combat zones on October 27-28, President Vladimir Zelensky said on Friday, October 25, after a report by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky .
Zelensky emphasized that Russia wants the war to continue, which is why there is a need for a principled and strong reaction from world leaders to the participation of North Korean soldiers in the war against Ukraine.
What Putin said
Putin said Russia had ratified the “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement with North Korea, signed in Pyongyang this summer. The agreement stipulates “providing mutual assistance in the event of aggression” against one of its participants. “There is Article 4,” Putin said. And he added: “Pyongyang takes our agreements seriously.”
Article 4 of the treaty states that “if one of the parties is in a state of war due to an armed attack by one or more states, the other party shall immediately provide military assistance to it in all ways which it can use in accordance with Art. 51 of the UN Charter and the laws of the DPRK and the Russian Federation.
“What and how we will do within the framework of this article is our business,” Putin concluded, without giving any details about sending North Korean troops to Russia and their goals.
EU response
According to EU High Representative Josep Borrell, sending North Korean troops to participate in the war against Ukraine is a serious violation of international law and undermines security in Europe and the world.
According to him, the EU strongly condemns the military cooperation and arms transfer between the DPRK and Russia, which violates UN resolutions, and calls on the DPRK to stop supporting Russia’s illegal actions.
“The European Union is deeply concerned by reports that the DPRK is sending troops to participate in Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. This would be a serious violation of international law, including the most fundamental principles of UN Charter. This would be a unilateral hostile action on the part of the DPRK with serious consequences for European and international peace and security. This development once again illustrates how Russia is spreading instability and escalation in the region and around the world,” the high representative of the EU emphasized.
Borrell also noted that Russia has changed its position on the denuclearization of the DPRK, abandoning its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and violating UN Security Council resolutions. According to him, by doing so, the Russian Federation is jeopardizing its responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council and as a UN member state.
China’s reaction
China may not be happy about North Korea’s deepening ties with Russia after Pyongyang sent its troops to war against Ukraine, the Financial Times wrote. Analysts saw signs of Beijing’s displeasure in Xi Jinping’s letter to Kim Jong Un last week, in which the Chinese leader thanked the North Korean leader for extending congratulations on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the communist China without the traditional reference to North Korea as a “friendly neighbor.”
After foreign intelligence agencies announced the sending of more than 12 thousand North Korean soldiers to the Russian Federation to participate in the war against Ukraine, Beijing’s concerns about its neighbors’ close military ties have intensified. For China, this is a “drastic escalation of partnership” that “threatens to upset the fragile balance of power on the Korean Peninsula,” the FT wrote.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.