Foreign minister criticizes North-Russia military cooperation at UNSC

North Korea

Published: 25 Feb. 2024, 15:02 Updated: 25 Feb. 2024, 15:08

Foreign minister criticizes North-Russia military cooperation at UNSC

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, center, speaks during a United Nations Security Council briefing at the UN headquarters in New York on Saturday. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul voiced concerns over growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York on Saturday.

At the UN Security Council briefing on the Ukraine issue held at the UN headquarters ahead of the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Cho said North Korea-Russia cooperation could potentially lead to Pyongyang's heightened ability to “threaten security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.”

“North Korean munitions and missiles have been sighted in Ukraine, which not only aggravates the human suffering, but risks further escalating and prolonging the war in Ukraine,” said Cho during the UN Security Council briefing. “If and when it turns out to be the case that North Korea receives in return, whether advanced military technology or oil shipments exceeding limits under Security Council resolutions, this would redound to North Korea's ability to threaten security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.”

Cho’s attendance at the UN Security Council Saturday was the first meeting of the international body that the Foreign Minister has taken part in since South Korea became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Coucil for the 2024-25 term.

A United Nations Security Council briefing is in session at the UN headquarters in New York on Saturday. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

North Korea has shipped more than 10,000 containers of munitions or munition-related materials to Russia since September last year, the United States State Department said last Friday. In addition to munitions, North Korea also provided Russia with several dozen ballistic missiles, according to the State Department report. A handful of these missiles were fired against Ukrainian targets on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and 6.

Pyongyang has been seeking military assistance from Russia in return for the arms provision, according to U.S. officials.

“My government is deeply troubled by the emerging military cooperation between Russia and North Korea,” Cho said. “We strongly urge Russia and North Korea to comply with the relevant Security Council resolutions, all of which were unanimously adopted in this chamber.”

Cho also highlighted President Yoon Suk Yeol’s July 2023 visit to Ukraine to launch the “Ukraine Peace and Solidarity Initiative,” which provided $140 million in humanitarian assistance, and reiterated Seoul’s additional aid package of $2.3 billion over several years, first announced in September last year.

Further underscoring South Korea’s own experience with war in the 1950s, Cho stated that “Korea firmly believes that aggression must not go answered, as a nation all too familiar with the agonizing consequences of armed conflict” and offered “a profound sense of empathy with the plight of the Ukrainian people.”

“The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is heightening geopolitical tensions worldwide, presenting us with challenges of unprecedented magnitude,” Cho said in his closing remarks. “Therefore, it is imperative that the Security Council devise effective strategies to navigate these complexities notwithstanding inherent shortcomings and current constraints to fulfill its fundamental duty of maintaining international peace and security.”

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries also strongly denounced alleged arms transactions between North Korea and Russia on Saturday.

"We strongly condemn North Korea's exports and Russia's procurement of North Korea's ballistic missiles in direct violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and call upon them to immediately cease such activities," the G7 leaders said in the joint statement.

The trip is Cho’s first to the U.S. since being appointed Foreign Minister in January. His visit started last Friday and will last until Monday in New York, followed by a visit to Washington until Wednesday.

Cho’s visit is largely to review the achievements made by South Korea and the U.S. in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the alliance last year and to discuss setting a broad direction for relations this year.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, center right, speaks during a meeting with Korean business leaders in New York on Saturday. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

After the Security Council briefing, Cho met with South Korean business leaders in New York and promised government support for corporations’ overseas expansion, the Foreign Ministry announced Sunday.

During the meeting, Cho emphasized the importance of the public and private sectors responding together as “one team” in an era of convergence between economic and national security issues and promised to minimize the negative impact of the rapidly changing external environment on South Korean companies expanding in overseas markets.

Officials from companies and institutions, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Korean Air, CJ, Bank of Korea, the Korean Development Bank and the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the U.S., were present at the meeting with Cho.

Cho will meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. During his visit, he is also scheduled to meet with other administrative officials of the U.S. government, members of Congress and leading scholars.

Cho’s U.S. trip comes immediately after attending the meeting of foreign ministers of G20 countries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the Foreign Minister met with his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa to discuss cooperation between South Korea and Japan on the denuclearization of North Korea, among other issues.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]