The United States on Tuesday reiterated that Russia’s training of North Korean troops is a “direct” violation of multiple U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, after Washington confirmed Pyongyang has sent around 10,000 North Korean troops to train in eastern Russia.
Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson, made the remark amid growing concerns that North Korean troops in Russia could be used to help Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“We believe that Russia’s training of DPRK soldiers involving arms or related material is a direct violation of Security Council Resolution 1718, 1874 and 2270,” Miller told a press briefing, using the acronym for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“And DPRK soldiers providing or receiving any training or other assistance related to the use of ballistic missiles or other arms would violate Resolution 1718, 1874 and … in addition to Russia and the DPRK’s ongoing U.N. arms embargo violations,” he added.
UNSC Resolutions 1718, 1874 and 2270 were adopted by the council in 2006, 2009 and 2016, respectively, due mainly to Pyongyang’s nuclear test in those years. They entail economic and other sanctions targeting the North’s development of weapons of mass destruction.
Miller also highlighted the United States’ ability to impose sanctions on Russia and North Korea.
“We’ve shown we are willing to use those abilities and authorities in the past and we will continue to do so when appropriate,” he said.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported on the U.S. assessment that some North Korean soldiers are already in Russia’s front-line Kursk region. It cited two U.S. officials who did not say what they believed the North Korean forces were doing in the region.
Yonhap
