The foreign ministers of the G7 countries, together with their counterparts from Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, today expressed "serious concern" in connection with the sending of soldiers from North Korea to Russia against the background of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyodo reported, quoted by BTA.
Noting that "several thousand" North Korean servicemen have been sent to Russia, the ministers said in their joint statement that "direct support" of Pyongyang on Moscow's war against Kiev "will mark a dangerous escalation of the conflict with serious implications for peace and security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region".
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the increasing military cooperation between the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and Russia, including the DPRK's export and Russia's illegal purchase of ballistic missiles from the DPRK in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions." ;, they added.
The statement came as South Korean broadcaster KBS reported that Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had confirmed that his country's military had engaged North Korean troops for the first time amid growing military tensions. cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
The G7 and the three other countries also said they were "deeply concerned about the possibility of a transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile technology from Russia to the DPRK in violation" of the relevant UN resolutions.