WASHINGTON: The national security advisors from South Korea, the United States, and Japan have expressed significant concerns over the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, with potential implications for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. This joint statement was made following a trilateral meeting in Washington, as confirmed by a White House official.
According to Yonhap News Agency, National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby reported that South Korea’s National Security Advisor Shin Won-sik met with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Jake Sullivan and Takeo Akiba, to address this issue among other mutual concerns. The advisors’ meeting comes amidst confirmations from Seoul and Washington that North Korea dispatched thousands of troops to eastern Russia earlier this month, marking a deepening military collaboration between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Kirby highlighted the advisors’ concerns over North Korea’s troop deployments to Russia, which might be intended for combat operations against Ukrai
ne. He described this move as part of an escalating pattern of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, which includes arms and ballistic missile transfers that violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.
The security advisors urged Russia and North Korea to halt actions that extend the ramifications of Russia’s war beyond Europe into the Indo-Pacific, according to Kirby. They emphasized their countries’ dedication to tackling regional and global challenges, aiming to foster security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
In a related development, North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong-gyu stated through state media that the troop deployment aligns with international law, which observers interpret as an acknowledgment of the deployment. South Korea’s intelligence agency confirmed that North Korea plans to send approximately 10,000 troops to Russia by year-end, with about 3,000 already dispatched. The White House corroborated the movement of at least 3,000 troops to eastern Russia ea
rlier this month.
During the discussions, the advisors also reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering trilateral cooperation and institutionalizing efforts to establish a lasting partnership for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. They expressed a strong stance against any unilateral measures to alter the status quo by force or coercion in the Indo-Pacific waters, upholding their commitment to the global maritime order as outlined in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
This meeting marks the second gathering of the three countries’ national security advisors since the historic summit at Camp David in August last year and is the fifth such meeting under the Biden administration.