Latest news with #MSMT
Egypt Independent
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
14,000 troops, 100 ballistic missiles and millions of munitions: What North Korea has sent to Russia, report finds
CNN — North Korea has sent soldiers and millions of munitions, including missiles and rockets, to Russia over the past year, according to a new report by an international watchdog, which details the extent to which Pyongyang has helped Moscow 'terrorize' Ukraine's population over its three-year war. The report was released Thursday by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), an initiative made up of 11 United Nations members, formed after Russia forced the disbandment of a previous UN panel that monitored the implementation of sanctions against North Korea. While some of the team's findings have been well documented – such as North Korea sending troops to fight for Russia – the report lays out the stunning scope and scale of weaponry sent from Pyongyang since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That includes as many as 9 million rounds of artillery and ammunition in 2024; more than 11,000 troops last year, and another 3,000 troops in the early months of this year; rocket launchers, vehicles, self-propelled guns and other types of heavy artillery; and at least 100 ballistic missiles 'which were subsequently launched into Ukraine to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorize populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia,' the report found, citing participating states. 'These forms of unlawful cooperation between (North Korea) and Russia contributed to Moscow's ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure,' the report said. In return, Russia provided North Korea with various valuable pieces of weaponry and technology, including air defense equipment, anti-aircraft missiles, electronic warfare systems and refined oil, the report said. A news broadcast in Seoul, South Korea, showing a Russian military facility reportedly used as a training ground for North Korean troops sent to assist in the war against Ukraine. Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/SIPAPRE/AP Moscow has also provided data feedback on Pyongyang's ballistic missiles, helping improve its missile guidance performance, it said. These actions 'allow North Korea to fund its military programs and further develop its ballistic missiles programs, which are themselves prohibited under multiple (UN Security Council resolutions), and gain first-hand experience in modern warfare,' the report found. It said its findings were based on MSMT participating states and cited supporting evidence from the Open Source Centre (OSC), a UK-based non-profit that uses publicly accessible information for research, and Conflict Armament Research (CAR), a UK-based research organization. Both Russia and North Korea are violating the UN arms embargo and are transferring arms and military equipment through actors and networks that evade sanctions, the report alleged. The two countries will likely continue their military cooperation 'at least for the foreseeable future,' it added. In a joint statement, the member nations behind the MSMT – Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States – urged North Korea to 'engage in meaningful diplomacy.' Western governments have become increasingly concerned about the long-term implications of what appears to be a deepening strategic partnership between the two nations. In recent months, the US has warned that Russia may be close to sharing advanced space and satellite technology with North Korea in exchange for continued support for the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged in April for the first time that North Korean soldiers took part in the fighting to recover Russian territory after Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region last year. North Korea also confirmed its troop presence there for the first time in April. Though North Korean troops had been deployed to Kursk since at least November, they withdrew from the front lines in January after reports of mass casualties, Ukrainian officials said. Both countries have denied that Pyongyang is supplying arms to Moscow, despite overwhelming evidence. However, as part of a landmark defense pact struck last year, they have both pledged to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event the other is attacked. Putin has warned he would provide arms to Pyongyang if the West continues arming Ukraine. In recent weeks, Ukraine's allies have lifted a ban on Kyiv firing long-range missiles into Russia, after days of Russia bombarding the Ukrainian capital and other regions with massive aerial attacks and as the US grows increasingly frustrated with Putin over the lack of a peace deal.
Hans India
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Pyongyang slams monitoring group's report on North Korea-Russia military cooperation
Seoul: North Korea on Monday denounced a monitoring group on the enforcement of UN sanctions against Pyongyang for issuing a report on military cooperation between the North and Russia, calling the move a violation of a state's sovereign rights. The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) on Thursday issued the first report detailing illegal military cooperation carried out between North Korea and Russia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes. The chief of the external policy office at North Korea's foreign ministry said the MSMT committed a "political provocation" by fabricating a report taking issue with cooperative ties between the North and Russia, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Calling the MSMT a "bogus group which has no legality in terms of existence and purpose," the official said the report is a "wanton" violation of international legal principles centering on sovereignty equality and non-interference in others' internal affairs. "We give stern warning against the negative consequences to be entailed by its reckless acts," the North's official said in a statement carried by the KCNA. North Korea said the MSMT is a "political tool" operating in line with the West's geopolitical interests, stressing, "It has no justification to investigate the exercise of sovereign rights of other countries," according to the KCNA. In response, South Korea's foreign ministry defended the MSMT's activities as legitimate and in line with the international obligations to enforce and monitor compliance with UN sanctions against North Korea, Yonhap news agency reported. The ministry noted that North Korea-Russia military cooperation is a "clear violation" of UN Security Council resolutions banning arms trade with North Korea, calling such resolutions legally binding for all UN member stages. It rejected the North's claim of a sovereignty violation as an "absurd" argument that disregards the authority of the security council and the international obligation to comply with its resolutions. The MSMT was established in October last year with the initiative of South Korea and the United States to continue the sanctions monitoring of North Korea following the disbandment of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korean sanctions monitoring due to Russia's veto.
Russia Today
16 hours ago
- Business
- Russia Today
North Korea slams ‘hostile' Western report on ties with Russia
North Korea has slammed a report by a Western sanctions monitoring group's on its ties with Russia, calling it a 'political provocation.' Cooperation with Moscow is a 'legitimate exercise of the DPRK's sovereign rights,' Pyongyang has insisted. The report was released last week by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Group (MSMT), created by the US and South Korea to monitor enforcement of UN sanctions against North Korea. It alleges 'illegal' military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, including purported arms transfers from North Korea to Russia, troop deployments and training, excess petroleum shipments, and financial coordination. Citing data from its 11 members and open-source intelligence, the report claims these actions violate UN Security Council resolutions aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. Pyongyang considers the MSMT report a 'hostile act' and the organization a 'ghost group without any legitimacy' and a 'political tool' operating 'according to the geopolitical interests of the West.' 'The hostile acts of the MSMT… are a flagrant violation of the international legal principles of sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs and a mockery of the fair and just international community,' the country's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in its statement on Sunday, as cited by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The ministry called the report a fabrication and denounced it as politically biased and 'provocative.' Military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is 'aimed at protecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security interests' of the countries and 'ensuring peace and stability in the Eurasian region,' the ministry claimed. It stressed that it is a 'legitimate exercise of sovereign rights' of both countries in accordance with the UN Charter. Moscow has not yet commented on the MSMT report. In June 2024, Russia and North Korea signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, which includes a clause providing for military and other assistance in the event of armed invasion of either side. Several weeks later, South Korean and US media reported the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia's Kursk Region, which at the time was under Ukrainian attack. Moscow and Pyongyang confirmed the military presence in late April after Russian forces declared the region fully liberated. The MSMT group was created last October after the disbandment of the UN Panel of Experts on DPRK, which had monitored the implementation of UN sanctions on North Korea until a Russian veto ended its mandate. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at the time called MSMT 'illegal,' saying it was created by 'uninvited enthusiasts bypassing the UN Security Council' who 'demonstrate blatant disregard for international law.'
Korea Herald
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Pyongyang slams monitoring group's report on N. Korea-Russia military cooperation
North Korea on Monday denounced a monitoring group on the enforcement of UN sanctions against Pyongyang for issuing a report on military cooperation between the North and Russia, calling the move a violation of a state's sovereign rights. The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team on Thursday issued the first report detailing illegal military cooperation carried out between North Korea and Russia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. The chief of the external policy office at North Korea's foreign ministry said the MSMT committed a "political provocation" by fabricating a report taking issue with cooperative ties between the North and Russia, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Calling the MSMT a "bogus group which has no legality in terms of existence and purpose," the official said the report is a "wanton" violation of international legal principles centering on sovereignty equality and non-interference in others' internal affairs. "We give stern warning against the negative consequences to be entailed by its reckless acts," the North's official said in a statement carried by the KCNA. North Korea said the MSMT is a "political tool" operating in line with the West's geopolitical interests, stressing, "It has no justification to investigate the exercise of sovereign rights of other countries," according to the KCNA. In response, South Korea's foreign ministry defended the MSMT's activities as legitimate and in line with the international obligations to enforce and monitor compliance with UN sanctions against North Korea. The ministry noted that North Korea-Russia military cooperation is a "clear violation" of UN Security Council resolutions banning arms trade with North Korea, calling such resolutions legally binding for all UN member stages. It rejected the North's claim of a sovereignty violation as an "absurd" argument that disregards the authority of the security council and the international obligation to comply with its resolutions. The MSMT was established in October last year with the initiative of South Korea and the United States to continue the sanctions monitoring of North Korea following the disbandment of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korean sanctions monitoring due to Russia's veto.
AsiaOne
a day ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
North Korea criticises 'hostile' monitoring group's report on Russia ties, World News
SEOUL — North Korea condemned a multilateral sanctions monitoring group's recent report on ties with Russia as political and biased, saying its military co-operation with Moscow was a "legitimate exercise of the sovereign right," state media said on Monday (June 2). A report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), a group comprising 11 UN members, said North Korea enabled Russia to increase missile attacks against critical Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and supplied more than 20,000 containers of munitions. The MSMT is "a political tool operating according to the geopolitical interests of the West and, therefore, it has no justification to investigate the exercise of sovereign rights of other countries," the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement cited by the state KCNA news agency. The ministry called the group's move "hostile" and "outrageous encroachment" on its sovereignty. The group also said Moscow helped North Korea improve missile performance in return by supplying data. It was launched in October last year to monitor UN sanctions against North Korea after a Security Council panel was scrapped by Russia and China. After months of silence, North Korea and Russia confirmed in April Pyongyang had deployed troops to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine as part of a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty their leaders signed last year. The Foreign Ministry said its Russia military co-operation was legitimate following their treaty requiring each parties to provide military assistance in case of an armed attack against the other. "We express serious concern over the provocative acts of the West to encroach upon the sovereign rights of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea with its unilateral and high-handed political and legal standards as a yardstick and give stern warning against the negative consequences to be entailed by its reckless acts," the ministry said, according to state media. [[nid:718504]]
