SEOUL (TIP): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his unwavering support for Russia‘s war in Ukraine during a meeting with a top Russian security official in Pyongyang, North Korean state media said Saturday. Friday’s meeting between Kim and Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s Security Council secretary, followed a South Korean intelligence assessment in late February that North Korea had likely sent additional troops to Russia after its forces suffered heavy casualties fighting in the Russian-Ukraine war.
Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after US President Donald Trump spoke with the two countries’ leaders, though it remains to be seen when it might take effect and what targets would be off-limits.
North Korean and Russian state media said Kim and Shoigu discussed various issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow’s dialogues with the Trump administration and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
They reaffirmed the willingness of the two countries leaders to unconditionally uphold a major mutual defense treaty reached at a summit last year in Pyongyang, which pledges mutual assistance if either country faces aggression, according to the reports.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim during the meeting said his government will invariably support Russia in the struggle for defending national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests. Shoigu conveyed a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who extended his greetings to Kim and vowed to give utmost attention to implementing agreements reached in their recent summits.
He expressed gratitude for North Korea’s solidarity with Russia’s position on all critical geopolitical issues, particularly on the Ukrainian issue, according to his televised comments.
North Korean and Russia media didn’t say whether any new agreements were reached before Shoigu departed Pyongyang later on Friday.
North Korea has been supplying a vast amount of conventional weapons to Russia, and last fall it sent about 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia as well, according to US, South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials.
In its February 27 statement, South Korea‘s National Intelligence Service said it was trying to determine exactly how many more troops North Korea has deployed to Russia.
South Korean media put the number of newly deployed North Korean soldiers at about 1,000 to 3,000 South Korea, the US and others suspect North Korea is receiving economic and military assistance from Russia in return for providing weapons and troops. (AP)