US Demands ‘End' to Military Cooperation Between North Korea and Russia
Russia's propping up of North Korea "must end," the U.S. State Department said, after Moscow and Pyongyang pledged to "dynamically expand and develop" relations between the two countries.
"Any support provided by the Russian Federation to the DPRK in return must end," State Department principal deputy spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, told reporters on Thursday. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is North Korea's official name.
"We continue to be concerned about North Korea's direct involvement in the war [and] North Korea's military deployment to Russia," Pigott said.
Pyongyang sent North Korean troops to Russia in fall 2024, and entered combat in early December against Ukrainian troops battling to hold on to territory Kyiv claimed in Russia's Kursk region from August 2024.
Intelligence reports and analysis from the frontlines suggested the North Korean troops were ill-prepared - little better than "cannon fodder" - yet also described the fighters hailing from a heavily militarized society as disciplined, in good shape, and adept with weapons.
International watchers believe North Korea is, or will be, receiving economic aid and a hand-up with its weapons development programs, including submarines and ballistic missiles, from Russia in exchange for munitions, missiles and troops.
Russia and North Korea signed a defense pact last year.
Sergei Shoigu, Russia's former defense minister now serving as the secretary of Russia's security council, visited Pyongyang and the secretive nation's strongman leader, Kim Jong Un, on Wednesday, North Korea's state media reported.
The two officials agreed "to continue to dynamically expand and develop the DPRK-Russia relations into powerful and comprehensive relations of strategic partnership that fully conform to the national interests of the two countries," according to a readout published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim reassured Shoigu that North Korea would "unconditionally support the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues including the Ukrainian issue," state media reported.
This is a breaking story and will be updated shortly.
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