SEOUL: Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and agreed to boost military cooperation between the two nations, Pyongyang state media reported on Saturday.
The United States and South Korea have accused North Korea of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine. According to media reports, Kim is eager to gain advanced technology and battle experience for his troops in return from Russia.
Kim, who met Belousov on Friday, blasted the recent decision by Western powers to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia with their long-range powerful weapons, saying it constituted a “direct military intervention in the conflict”, according to KCNA.
“It is an exercise of the right to self-defence for Russia to take resolute action to make the hostile forces pay the price,” Kim was quoted as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim signed a strategic partnership treaty in June that obligates both states to provide military assistance “without delay” in the case of an attack on the other and jointly oppose Western sanctions.
KCNA reported Saturday that Belousov’s visit “would greatly contribute to bolstering up the defence capabilities of the two countries and … promoting the friendly, mutual cooperation and development of the relations between the two armies”.
Belousov, in a statement, expressed gratitude for the two countries’ deep bonds and praised North Korea’s “absolutely independent foreign policy”.
Analysts have suggested Pyongyang could be using Ukraine as a means of realigning its foreign policy.
Russia and North Korea have strengthened their military ties since the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Since US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory earlier this month, the Joe Biden administration has stepped up its support for Kyiv, transferring more weapons and giving Ukraine permission to fire long-range missiles onto Russian territory.
Kim said Friday that his government, army and people would “invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
ALSO READ: North Korean Troops Massed in Russia to Enter Ukraine War Soon: Pentagon Chief
Earlier this month, Pyongyang said it had ratified the landmark defence pact with Russia after lawmakers in Moscow voted unanimously in favour of the deal, which Putin later signed.
South Korea and Ukraine said Wednesday they would deepen security cooperation in response to the “threat” posed by North Korea, but there was no mention of potential arms shipments.
President Yoon Suk Yeol said earlier this month that Seoul was “not ruling out the possibility of providing weapons” to Ukraine, which would mark a major shift to a long-standing policy barring the sale of weapons to countries in active conflict.
