The US and dozens of EU member and non-member countries, among them Georgia, released a joint statement condemning North Korea’s ballistic missile transfers to Russia for the aggression in Ukraine.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) export and Russia’s procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles, as well as Russia’s use of these missiles against Ukraine on December 30, 2023, and January 2, 2024. The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia’s war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime. Russia’s use of DPRK ballistic missiles in Ukraine also provides valuable technical and military insights to the DPRK. We are deeply concerned about the security implications that this cooperation has in Europe, on the Korean Peninsula, across the Indo-Pacific region, and around the world.
“Our governments stand together in resolute opposition to arms transfers between the DPRK and Russia. The transfer of ballistic missiles, along with any other arms and related materiel, from the DPRK to Russia flagrantly violates multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) – namely, resolution 1718 (2006), resolution 1874 (2009), and resolution 2270 (2016) – that Russia itself supported. We are closely monitoring what Russia provides to the DPRK in return for these weapons exports. We call on the DPRK and Russia to abide by relevant UNSCRs and to immediately cease all activities that violate them.
“We urge all UN Member States, including all members of the United Nations Security Council, to join us in condemning Russia and the DPRK’s flagrant UNSCR violations. As Russia launches waves of missiles and drones against the Ukrainian people, we will continue to stand together in support of Ukraine. We further call on the DPRK to respond to the numerous and genuine offers to return to diplomacy, the only path to an enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula,” reads the statement.
The joint statement was signed by the High Representative of the European Union and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the Secretary of State of the United States of America.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked about the alleged weapons transfers.
Reports emerged as early as 2022 that Russia was planning to buy weapons from North Korea for use in its invasion of Ukraine.
In August last year, the US’s United Nations envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the organization that Moscow was negotiating “potential deals for significant quantities and multiple types of munitions”.
Speculation intensified when the countries’ two leaders held a summit the following month at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s most important satellite launch center.
