North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed “unconditional support” for Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, expressing his conviction that Moscow will emerge victorious. This declaration came during a meeting with top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang on Wednesday, as reported by North Korea’s state media on Thursday.
North Korea has solidified its position as one of Russia’s key allies in the conflict, which has spanned over three years. Pyongyang has reportedly sent thousands of troops and numerous container-loads of weapons to aid Russian efforts, including in expelling Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk border region.
During the high-level meeting, Kim affirmed Pyongyang’s commitment to “unconditionally support the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues including the Ukrainian issue.” Both sides agreed to “continue to dynamically expand” their relations.
This deepening alliance follows a sweeping military deal signed last year between Russia and North Korea, which includes a mutual defense clause. Shoigu, who visited Pyongyang for the second time in less than three months, previously hailed the deal as “fully meeting the interests of both countries.”
According to South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun, citing intelligence services, around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded while fighting for Russia. North Korea itself confirmed in April, for the first time, that it had deployed troops to Russia to support the war effort and acknowledged combat fatalities. South Korea has also accused Pyongyang of sending significant volumes of weapons, including missiles, to bolster Russia’s military.
Meanwhile, a multilateral sanctions monitoring group, including South Korea, the United States, and Japan, recently condemned the growing ties between Russia and North Korea as “unlawful.” The group reported that Russian-flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as “9 million rounds of mixed artillery and and multiple rocket launcher ammunition” from North Korea to Russia last year, with Russia believed to have provided “air defense equipment and anti-aircraft missiles” in return.
The meeting between Kim and Shoigu occurred on the same day that South Korea inaugurated its new president, Lee Jae-myung, who has vowed to engage with North Korea – a stark contrast to his hawkish predecessor. However, North Korean state media’s report on Lee’s inauguration did not respond to his overtures for talks. Pyongyang also issued a commentary criticizing French President Emmanuel Macron for “imprudent” comments regarding its ties with Moscow, particularly concerning NATO’s potential involvement in Asia over North Korea’s military aid to Russia.
