World ECR | US condemns Russia’s military actions with North Korea

The U.S. State Department condemned Russia’s military cooperation with North Korea, saying the Kremlin’s alleged training of North Korean soldiers violated multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and warned Washington could impose sanctions in due course.

U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Matthew Miller made the remarks at a press conference on October 29, emphasizing any form of military cooperation between Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“North Korea”), especially ballistic missiles or Cooperation in weapons directly violates international sanctions.

He said that we believe that Russia’s training of North Korean soldiers involving weapons or related materials is a direct violation of Security Council Resolutions 1718, 1874 and 2270.

Reports of deepening ties between Russia and North Korea have drawn close attention from the international community, particularly Russia’s alleged training of North Korean soldiers to fight in Ukraine.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said earlier that the United States believed at least 3,000 North Korean soldiers traveled to Russia in October. “We don’t know yet whether these soldiers will fight alongside Russian troops, but it’s certainly a very concerning possibility,” he said.

In addition to the UN violations, Miller also highlighted the role of the recently established Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (“MSMT”), a U.S.-led mechanism responsible for tracking and reporting on the implementation of sanctions against North Korea. It was established after Russia vetoed continued sanctions on North Korea. The United Nations conducted the monitoring earlier this year.

“This is not a sanctions-imposing mechanism per se, but we certainly retain the ability to impose sanctions on Russia and North Korea. We have demonstrated in the past our willingness to use those capabilities and authorities, and we will continue to do so where appropriate,” he said .