South Korea and the European Union today strongly condemned North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia in support of its war against Ukraine, calling for their withdrawal and expressing fears that Moscow could reward Pyongyang authorities with sensitive technology to advance its existing nuclear and missile programs.
The arrival of North Korean troops, confirmed by the US and NATO, threatens to widen the nearly three-year-old war, and deeply worries South Korea and other countries, as they wonder what Russia might give North Korea in return.
After the meeting in Seoul, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borelj issued a joint press statement condemning North Korean troop deployments "in the strongest possible terms" and expressing concern over the possibility of Moscow handing over materials and technology to Pyongyang. in support of his military objectives.
In particular, concern is expressed that the prize for aid to Russia could consist of technology for nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, which, as the statement states, "would jeopardize international efforts aimed at non-proliferation (of those technologies) and would pose a threat to peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and across the planet".
Cho and Borelj characterized the deployment of North Korean soldiers as a "flagrant" violation of several United Nations Security Council resolutions and asked Moscow and Pyongyang to immediately withdraw those troops from Russia.
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