MOSCOW: North Korea’s foreign minister pledged to support Russia “until it achieves victory” in its war against Ukraine, during a visit to Moscow as some 8,000 North Korean troops are reportedly poised to join Russian troops on the battlefield.
Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui held talks with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
As cameras rolled after their meeting, each praised the new levels that the relationship between the two nations has reached.
The North Korean top diplomat accused the United States and South Korea of a military build-up and war provocations, and praised Russia’s efforts to put an end to “hegemonic practices of the U.S. and the West and to establish a new international order.”
She said the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has unwavering faith that Russia will achieve victory and said her country will stand with them until that victory is achieved.
Lavrov expressed Russia’s gratitude for its Korean friends and for their “principled” position regarding “the events that have now unfolded in Ukraine,” and praised the “very close contacts” that “have been established between the military of the two countries.”
Neither diplomat made any direct reference to North Korean troops being deployed in the region.
Speaking Friday in Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a joint briefing with his South Korean counterpart it is believed at least 10,000 North Korean troops are set to be deployed to the region, with about 8,000 of them already in Russia’s Kursk oblast.
At the same news conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. expects North Korean troops to enter the war against Ukraine in the coming days.
More than a half-million Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale illegal invasion on February 24, 2022, U.S. officials said, adding that Russia is now turning to pariah state North Korea to bolster its forces.
In an interview with Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR Friday, Estonian Defense Forces intelligence chief Colonel Ants Kiviselg said he thinks North Korean troops are likely to suffer heavy losses, potentially even more than the Russians.
He said they are not familiar with or trained for combat in the region’s terrain, climate or geography.
(VOA)
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