On October 25, national security officials from the United States, South Korea, and Japan gathered in Washington, D.C., to address concerns over North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia.
John Kirby, the White House National Security Council’s Coordinator for Strategic Communications, confirmed that U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with South Korea’s National Security Director Shin Won-sik and Japan’s National Security Secretariat Chief Takeo Akiba to discuss the issue, among other security concerns related to North Korea.
According to Kirby, the officials expressed “significant concerns over the potential use of North Korean troops in the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield.” Such a deployment, they warned, could directly contribute to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Previously, U.S. officials had pointed out that the deployment would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions. They indicated that sanctions against nations supporting Russia’s war efforts would be announced soon.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com
