Pyongyang will stand by Russia until its "victory" in Ukraine, the head of North Korean diplomacy, Choe Sun Hui, said today in Moscow.
"There is no doubt that under the wise leadership of respected Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian army and people will win a great victory," the North Korean foreign minister said, according to a Russian translation of her statement.
She made the statement at a meeting with the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov.
"We reaffirm that we will always be firmly on the side of our Russian comrades, until the day of victory," the North Korean official said.
Choe Sun Hui is in Moscow following the statement by American officials, and based on intelligence data from the United States of America (USA), that about 8.000 North Korean soldiers are currently in Russia in the border region of Kursk, from where they should be deployed to Ukraine.
Chinese authorities: The rapprochement between Pyongyang and Moscow does not change our relationship with them
Chinese authorities said today that the rapprochement between Pyongyang and Moscow will not change Beijing's attitude towards those countries, after Washington warned that up to 8.000 North Korean soldiers are training in Russia and are ready to fight against Ukraine.
"North Korea and Russia are two independent countries. Their concern is how to develop their relations," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has been at war with Ukraine since 2022, reached an agreement on military cooperation with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
According to US intelligence, around 8.000 North Korean soldiers are currently in Russia in the border region of Kursk, from where they are to be deployed to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the non-reaction of his allies and said he was surprised by China's "silence".
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said today that Beijing is not familiar with the concrete situation of bilateral exchange and cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
"The position of China, which hopes that the parties will contribute to calming the situation and work on a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis, has not changed," the spokesman said at a regular press conference.
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