North Korea unconditionally backs Putin’s war in Ukraine during Lavrov visit

Digest opened free editor

Rola Khaleda, FT editor, chooses her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

North Korea will “support” Russia’s goals without restriction or condition in Ukraine, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un informed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week, according to the government news agency in North Korea, where the two countries reaffirmed their deep military and economic relations.

Lavrov met with Kim on Saturday on the leader’s yacht near Wensan coastal resort after arriving in North Korea to welcome the red carpet on Friday.

Lavrov thanked his host on the weapons and forces that Pyongyang had already sent to help Russia’s wide invasion of Ukraine, describing it as a “sincere expression of solidarity”, and said that this coordination will take any future military support Kim.

North Korean ammunition and forces played a decisive role in fighting Russia this spring to regain control of the Kursk region, which was seized by the Ukrainian forces last year.

Russia is intensifying its summer attack in Ukraine, but it is still unclear whether the North Korean forces will participate in the fighting beyond the internationally recognized borders of Russia.

According to a new report issued by the South Korean Military Intelligence, the Yonhap News Agency was killed on Sunday, Pyongyang sent about 13,000 soldiers and 12 million rounds of shells to Russia since October, and more forces are likely to send this summer.

The Kremlin ascended its unmanned attacks and missiles on Ukraine, with Kiev and the surrounding area mostly in recent attacks. The attacks come as Russia is gaining land in the east of the country, with its forces progressing at the fastest frequently since November.

In June, Russian Security Council president Sergei Shoigu announced that North Korea has pledged to publish more publication of 6000 military personnel, including 5,000 military construction workers, to help Russian reconstruction efforts in the Corsak region.

In response to a question about whether Korsk, with Corsak, can now support North Korean forces, Russia’s military efforts in other areas of the confrontation line – which will require fighting on the sovereign lands of Ukraine – said Lavrov that Pyongyang “defines itself forms in which we implement the strategic partnership agreement.”

This agreement, which was signed in June last year during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first of the isolated communist country for more than two decades, formed the basis of North Korea’s military support.

The official news agency in North Korea summarized the three -day visit of Lavrov on Sunday, saying that the two countries discussed “the defense of common basic interests by developing a comprehensive strategic partnership.”

Kim again confirmed that North Korea “is ready to support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership in terms of addressing the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis in line with the spirit of the treaty between the states.”

In addition to military cooperation, Moscow and Pyongyang have strengthened increasingly economic and social relations. Some North Korea products are now appearing in Russian supermarkets, while Moscow promotes joint infrastructure projects, including building a large bridge linking the two countries.

In a resort near the coastal city of Wonsan on Saturday, Lavrov said that aviation contacts between Russia and North Korea have been restored long after years, and he said he hoped that Russian tourists will choose to choose North North Korea.

Lavrov said that Russia “respects and understands” the logical basis of North Korea to follow up on the nuclear weapons program, citing the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities last month as evidence that supports Pyongyang’s strategic accounts.

“This is specifically because these conclusions were extracted in a timely manner, no one thought of using force against the Democratic Popular Republic of Korea,” Lavrov said. “We respect the DPRK behavior and understand the logic behind its nuclear ambitions.”