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U.S. says North Korean military deployment, Russia's support in return 'must end'

Published: 06 Jun. 2025, 09:26

The State Department in Washington [YONHAP]

A State Department spokesperson reiterated Thursday that North Korea's troop deployment to Russia and Moscow's support to the North in return "must end."

Tommy Pigott, the department's principal deputy spokesperson, made the remarks after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to "unconditionally" support Russia over the war against Ukraine during a meeting with Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang earlier this week.

"We continue to be concerned about North Korea's direct involvement in the war," he told a press briefing.

"North Korea's military deployment to Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation to the DPRK in return must end," he added. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

He also stressed that third countries, like North Korea, "bear responsibility" for their role in the war against Ukraine.

During the meeting with Shoigu, Kim said that Pyongyang will "unconditionally support the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues, including the Ukrainian issue," according to the Korean Central News Agency.

Kim also said his country will "responsibly" observe the articles of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed in June last year.

Yonhap