A top North Korean military official has warned US support for Ukraine’s conflict with Russia was edging the world towards a new all-out war.
North Korea’s Pak Jong Chon, one of Kim Jong-un‘s most prominent military officials, warned of a strong response from Moscow if the US pushes Ukraine towards a “proxy war” against Russia.
He said Russia has the “right to opt for any kind of retaliatory strike,” possibly leading to a “new world war”.
Mr Pak singled out comments by the Pentagon last week that Ukrainian forces can use US-supplied weapons to strike Russian forces anywhere across the border into Russia.
This comes just days after Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un signed a new military pact during the Russian president’s visit to Pyongyang. The partnership commits both countries to provide immediate military assistance in the case of armed aggression against either one of them.
The new pact strengthens the two countries’ anti-US alliance and potentially ramps up arms trading.
Russian claims that the US is using Ukraine in a proxy war against Moscow ramped up on Sunday after Russian officials blamed the deaths of civilians on a beach in Crimea on the US, not Ukraine.
Washington and Seoul have been increasingly alarmed by deepening military cooperation between Russia and the North.
On Monday, senior officials of South Korea, the US, and Japan condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the growing alliance between North Korea and Russia.
They accuse North Korea of violating international laws by trading arms for Russia to use against Ukraine.
Russia may have received around 1.6 million artillery shells from North Korea between August and January, according to the Washington Post.
Data from the US security nonprofit C4ADS shows 74,000 metric tons of explosives moved from Russia‘s far east ports to other sites mainly along the borders near Ukraine.
Moscow and Pyongyang have repeatedly denied any arms transfer.
Meanwhile, a South Korean government official told South Korean TV that North Korea plans to send construction and engineering forces to Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine as early as next month for rebuilding work.
The North Korean workers will be redeployed from construction work in China.
Also on Monday, another top North Korean military official criticised the US for sending an aircraft carrier to join joint drills with South Korea and Japan.
The country’s vice minister of defence, Kim Kang Il, said the US’s actions were a “very dangerous” show of force, leaving doors open for North Korea’s “overwhelming, new demonstration of deterrence”.
Earlier today, President Putin thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this morning for his hospitality during his visit last week.
In remarks last week, the Russian leader warned that Russia would arm Pyongyang if the US and its allies continue supplying Ukraine with weapons. He specifically named South Korea, saying Seoul would be “making a big mistake” if it arms Kyiv.
Mr Putin said: “Those who supply these weapons believe that they are not at war with us. I said, including in Pyongyang, that we then reserve the right to supply weapons to other regions of the world.”