NATO and North Korea Exchange Mutual Condemnation Over Pyongyang Aid to Kremlin

NATO does not doubt that North Korea provides significant military support to Russia to continue its war of aggression in Ukraine, as reported by Ukrinform.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated this in an interview with Kyodo News, as seen by Ukrinform.

When asked about Pyongyang’s role in the war in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said “There’s no doubt” North Korea is providing Russia with “significant military support.”

Stoltenberg said the Alliance cannot rule out that in response Moscow may provide Pyongyang with technical assistance in weapons development programs or supply certain types of weapons, according to the report.

While declining to disclose sensitive intelligence, he said it was “absolutely clear” that NATO is “deeply concerned” about the possibility of Russia supporting North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs in return for receiving ammunition and other weapons from Pyongyang.

NATO leaders also voiced “profound concern” over China’s industrial support to Russia, helping to make up for the impact felt by Moscow from Western sanctions.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Pyongyang denounced the NATO summit declaration condemning North Korean weapons exports to Russia, calling the document “illegal,” as reported by Ukrainska Pravda.

At this week’s 75th Anniversary Summit, NATO leaders condemned North Korea for “fueling Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine” by “providing direct military support” to Moscow.

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According to the report, “Pyongyang has repeatedly denied allegations that it is shipping weapons to Moscow, but in June leader Kim Jong Un and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement that included a pledge to come to each other’s military aid if attacked.”

On Saturday, Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency said that the foreign ministry “most strongly denounces and rejects” the NATO declaration. The ministry also says the Alliance’s statement “incites new Cold War and military confrontation on a global scale” and requires “a new force and mode of counteraction.”

Seoul and Washington in meetings at the NATO Summit signed agreements on guidelines for an integrated system of deterrence for the Korean peninsula to counter North Korea’s nuclear and conventional military threats, the report says.

South Korea’s presidential office said Seoul and Washington will carry out joint military drills to help implement the newly announced guidelines, which formalize the deployment of US nuclear assets on and around the Korean peninsula to deter and respond to potential nuclear attacks by Pyongyang.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with Pyongyang ramping up weapons testing as it draws closer to Russia, notes Ukrainska Pravda.

“After Pyongyang sent multiple barrages of trash-carrying balloons across the border, Seoul last month fully suspended a tension-reducing military deal and resumed live-fire drills on border islands and [near] the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean peninsula.”