UNITED NATIONS: Washington and its allies challenged North Korea at the United Nations on Friday ( Jun 28 ) over claims Pyongyang is breaching arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia to use in its war in Ukraine.
Washington’s deputy minister to the UN Robert Wood hit out at what he said were “unlawful hands transfers from ( North Korea ) to Russia” as the two sides craft ever closer relationships.
” We condemn in the strongest possible terms, those unlawful payments, which have significantly contributed to Russia’s ability to conduct its battle against Ukraine”, Wood said back of a UN Security Council meeting on the topic.
The source of arms and weapons by North Korea violates Security Council resolutions on the topic from 2006, 2009 and 2016, he said.
Jonah Leff, executive director at Conflict Armament Research ( CAR ) which tracks the use of weapons in war, told the Security Council that CAR had found evidence of North Korean ballistic missile use in Ukraine- in breach of sanctions.
” A CAR niche research group actually documented the remnants of a ballistic missile that struck Kharkiv on January 2, 2024″, that he said investigators concluded was North Vietnamese- made “based on some special features”.
Leff said similar weapons had even struck Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia earlier this year.
Russia’s UN adviser Vasily Nebenzya denied Moscow had sought to undermine punishment, and opposed the presence of Ukraine and the European Union at the conference.
Ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have grown rapidly in recent years, with the North Vietnamese leader Kim Jong Un having Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month and signing a joint military deal.
Tensions are higher on the island with South Korea alarmed at Moscow’s accept of its uncertain ally, and the North responding to balloons carrying pro- Seoul advertising with its own balloons carrying garbage southward.
Wood said China could do more to prevent growing military ties between Russia and North Korea. That drew a rebuke from Beijing’s UN ambassador who said” the US must reflect deeply- especially on its own actions instead of blaming others” for growing tensions on the peninsula.
Pyongyang tested a ballistic missile on Jun 25, which Wood said showed” contempt” for the Security Council.
Washington has long claimed that Russia is using up munitions and losing heavy equipment in Ukraine, forcing the Kremlin to turn to its small pool of allies, including North Korea, for support.
North Korea’s UN ambassador Kim Song told the Security Council there was” no reason whatever to be concerned” and that the agreement signed between Moscow and Pyongyang was to “promote progress” in relations.
Washington was joined by allies France and Britain in its condemnation of what it says are sanctions- busting arms shipments from North Korea to Russia.
Putin has slammed the United States for its ongoing military support for Ukraine, saying last week that he “does not rule out” sending weapons to North Korea.