Long-range strikes are “reckless military adventurism” by the West and Ukraine, the country’s leader has insisted
Pyongyang will continue to support Moscow in its quest to defend its national sovereignty against the West, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.
Kim made the remarks during a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, who arrived in Pyongyang on Friday to discuss defense cooperation between the two countries.
Relations between Russia and North Korea reached a new high in June when they signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which stipulates that if one side is attacked, the other “shall provide military and other assistance with all means in its possession without delay.”
According to KCNA, Kim lauded the burgeoning cooperation while condemning the recent “reckless military adventurism” by the West and Ukraine, referring specifically to recent US approval for Kiev to strike deep into Russia using foreign-made long-range weapons.
The action constitutes “direct military intervention in the conflict,” and Russia has the right to “self-defense… and [to] take resolute action to make the hostile forces pay the price,” the North Korean leader said.
He added that “the DPRK… will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists’ moves for hegemony” while praising Moscow’s retaliation, which saw the first battlefield use of an Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic missile as an “effective measure.”
Kim assured Belousov that Pyongyang “would always be with Moscow.”
Close ties between Russia and North Korea, which date back to the Soviet era, have been given a new impetus since the start of the Ukraine conflict, with Pyongyang expressing firm support for Moscow’s effort to defend its national interests, particularly when it comes to NATO expansion.
The US and NATO claimed last month that North Korea had sent a significant military force to Russia for training and possible use in battle, potentially to fight Ukrainian forces that have invaded Kursk Region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has neither confirmed nor denied the reports, while insisting that it is up to the two nations alone to decide how to fulfill their mutual obligations under the new treaty. At the same time, North Korea has described the Western claims as an attempt to tarnish the country’s image on the international stage.
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