North Korea says will stand by Russia until ‘victory’ in Ukraine

MOSCOW: North Korea will stand by Russia until its victory in Ukraine, Pyongyang´s foreign minister said in Moscow on Friday, as the US warned thousands of North Korean troops could be sent to combat in the Ukraine conflict in the coming days.

North Korea´s Choe Son Hui is on a visit to Moscow as the West believes up to 10,000 North Korean troops are on the brink of entering the more than two-year conflict on Russia´s side. US intelligence has said some North Korean forces have made their way to Russia´s Kursk border region, with Washington and Seoul urging Pyongyang to withdraw its troops.

“We will always stand firmly by our Russian comrades until victory day,” Choe declared in Moscow after talks with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. She said North Korea had no doubt in the “wise leadership” of President Vladimir Putin, who signed a mutual assistance pact with Pyongyang this summer and massively warmed ties with the reclusive state.

Choe praised Moscow´s offensive in Ukraine as a “sacred struggle”. She also vowed that North Korea will continue to develop its nuclear arsenal, with Pyongyang widely suspected of wanting nuclear technology from Russia in exchange for military support.

Neither country has denied the troop deployment reports, which Choe and Lavrov did not mention in their statements after their talks. Lavrov did however laud “very close ties” between the two countries´ “armies and special services”.