PYONGYANG (dpa-AFX) - The international community has expressed serious concerns over the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, potentially for the use on the battlefield against Ukraine.
'Several thousands of DPRK troops have been deployed to Russia. The DPRK's direct support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, besides showing Russia's desperate efforts to compensate its losses, would mark a dangerous expansion of the conflict, with serious consequences for European and Indo-Pacific peace and security,' ten allied nations and the European Union said in a joint statement Wednesday.
It would be a further breach of international law, including the most fundamental principles of the UN Charter, according to the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and the High Representative of the EU.
The allies strongly condemned the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including Pyongyang's export and Russia's unlawful procurement of North Korean ballistic missiles in breach of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, as well as Russia's use of these missiles against Ukraine.
They reminded that Korean soldiers receiving or providing any training or other assistance related to the use of ballistic missiles or arms is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions 1718, 1874 and 2270.
The nations also expressed deep concerned about the potential for any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology from Russia to Pyongyang.
They urged North Korea to stop providing assistance to Russia's war, and warned that they are are working with their international partners for a coordinated response to this new development.
The U.S. Defense officials estimate there are now 11,000 to 12,000 North Korean troops in Russia.
North Korean troops are currently camped in Russia's Kursk Oblast, and if they join forces with Russian troops in the war, they are legitimate targets for Ukrainian soldiers, the Pentagon said earlier this week.
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