G7 Foreign Ministers Call North Koreans In Ukraine a Sign of Russian Desperation

The ministers pointed out that the appearance of the North Koreans is evidence that Russia is unable to make up its increasingly horrific losses of troops, armor and artillery in Ukraine, having to rely on an impoverished and backward nation to stave off defeat. JL

Rachel Hagen and colleagues report in The Independent:

The Group of Seven has branded Russia’s deployment of thousands of North Korean troops into its fight with Ukraine as a “desperate effort” to replenish Moscow’s own losses as Kyiv reports the first combat clashes with Pyongyang’s soldiers. “The DPRK’s (North Korea) direct support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, besides showing Russia’s desperate efforts to compensate its losses, would mark a dangerous expansion of the conflict.” The ministers condemned “in the strongest possible terms” Russia’s “unlawful procurement” of North Korean ballistic missiles.

The Group of Seven has branded Russia’s deployment of thousands of North Korean troops into its fight with Ukraine as a “desperate effort” to replenish Moscow’s own losses as Kyiv reports the first combat clashes with Pyongyang’s soldiers.

Kyiv confirmed on Monday that they had fired at North Korean soldiers in the Russian region of Kursk, which has been partly occupied by Ukraine since August.

 

Foreign ministers from the G7 described the deployment as a “dangerous expansion of the conflict”, with Monday’s clashes marking the first time a sovereign nation has officially engaged its forces in the conflict.

“The DPRK’s (North Korea) direct support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, besides showing Russia’s desperate efforts to compensate its losses, would mark a dangerous expansion of the conflict,” the ministers said in a statement, which was also signed by South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The ministers said they condemned “in the strongest possible terms” increased military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including Russia’s “unlawful procurement” of North Korean ballistic missiles.

They added they were deeply concerned about the potential for any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology to North Korea.