North Korean ballistic missiles used by Russia in Ukraine worry Brussels and Washington

Brussels – Between December 29 and January 2, Russia launched over 500 drones and missiles against Ukrainian targets. According to U.S. intelligence forces, during those five days, Moscow allegedly used several missiles acquired from North Korea. The arms deal between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un “deeply worries” the West, according to a  joint statement signed by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, on behalf of the 27 member countries and U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, along with Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Guatemala, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Republic of Korea, San Marino, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

“The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia’s war of aggression, and undermines the global nonproliferation regime,” the foreign ministers of the 49 countries said, united in a “resolute opposition” to the transfer from Pyongyang to Moscow. It is a “clear violation” of multiple UN Security Council resolutions – Resolution 1718 in 2006, Resolution 1874 in 2009, and Resolution 2270 in 2016 – that required a demilitarization path for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Resolutions “that Russia itself supported,” they point out in the joint statement.

What worries the West is not only the effect Pyongyang’s military support may have on Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine but also the possible unilateral actions of an unreliable leader like Kim Jong-un. “We are closely monitoring what Russia provides to North Korea in exchange for these arms exports,” Borrell and Blinken said. Indeed, the pact that Moscow and Pyongyang signed during Kim Jong-Un’s visit to Russia last September provides mutual exchange of armaments. Ballistic missiles for Putin. Aircraft, armored vehicles, equipment for producing missiles, and other advanced technologies for North Korea.

In addition, “Russia’s use of DPRK ballistic missiles in Ukraine also provides valuable technical and military insights” to North Korea. At the lowest point in relations with South Korea in decades, with Kim Jong-Un just today declaring that “if South Korea uses its armed forces against North Korea or threatens its sovereignty and security, we will not hesitate to annihilate it,” the international community fears that this military arsenal buildup could break out into a full-fledged conflict.

“We are deeply concerned about the security implications that this cooperation has in Europe, the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific region, and around the world,” the Western leaders warn. The joint statement concludes by urging “all UN Member States, including all members of the Security Council, to join us in condemning the flagrant violations of UN resolutions by Russia and the DPRK.”