2024-09-26 19:36:25
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today that Moscow considers the issue of North Korea’s “nuclear disarmament” a “closed page” because Pyongyang’s logic of basing its defense on nuclear weapons is understandable, Reuters reported.
In response to a question on his ministry’s website, Lavrov said that Russia would stand shoulder to shoulder with North Korea in resisting what the US called “broad nuclear deterrence” carried out jointly with South Korea and Japan in the Indo-Pacific region.
“This is undoubtedly a real and extremely serious threat to security in the region,” Lavrov wrote. “In this situation, the very term “nuclear disarmament” applied to North Korea loses its meaning. For us, this is a closed page,” adds the minister.
Russia has strengthened diplomatic and military ties with North Korea since the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exchanging visits.
Ukrainian experts have presented evidence that missiles produced in North Korea, which has been subject to international sanctions for many years, were used against Russian military targets in Ukraine, according to Reuters. Moscow and Pyongyang deny any illegal trade with each other or arms supplies.
North Korea has said it will never stop relying on its nuclear weapons to protect its security from South Korea and the United States, which has about 24,000 troops on South Korean soil, BTA writes.
Lavrov said in his comments that Russia strongly disagrees with the “nonsensical” sanctions imposed by the West. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow had signed UN-backed sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear tests for many years, Reuters recalled.
The Russian foreign minister also said that Russia will stand by North Korea in “opposing the common enemy” and “will consistently strengthen friendship and cooperation” with Pyongyang.