Foreign minister Cho urges U.N. to demand North Korean troops' withdrawal from Russia

Home > National > North Korea

Foreign minister Cho urges U.N. to demand North Korean troops' withdrawal from Russia

Published: 06 Nov. 2024, 10:36

Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, shakes hands with U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu before their meeting on the sidelines of the 23rd South Korea-U.N. disarmament conference held in Seoul on Tuesday. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul has called on visiting United Nations officials to deliver "stern" messages for an immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops from Russia and the cessation of their "illegal" military cooperation, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

In his meeting with U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, Cho said the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia clearly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions and threatens the international community's peace and stability.

Cho also met with U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu to exchange views on issues such as the ongoing Moscow-Pyongyang military cooperation, the global nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.

He said the North's deployment of its troops to the battlefield is a "serious challenge" to the international community's nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation efforts.

The U.N. officials attended the 23rd South Korea-U.N. disarmament conference held in Seoul from Monday to Tuesday.

On the same day, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho also met with DiCarlo to discuss cooperative measures with the U.N. to deal with security issues on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim briefed on the North's troops deployment and its recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch, while condemning Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missile development, illegal cooperation with Russia and human rights suppression.

He also said the Seoul government will make consistent efforts to realize Korea's reunification based on freedom, peace and prosperity.

DiCarlo said she fully supports Seoul's unification goal, expressing grave concerns over the North's troop deployment to Russia.

Russia and North Korea have strengthened their cooperation in recent years. In June, they signed a comprehensive strategic partnership that requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked.

Yonhap