New York — Russia refused to confirm its plans for North Korean troops it reportedly plans to deploy in its fight against Ukraine, during a confrontation with the United States Monday at the U.N. Security Council.
“I heard the statement [of the Russian envoy], as did others in this room, but the one question still remains that that statement does not address, and that is whether there are DPRK troops on the ground in Russia,” U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Robert Wood told council members, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name.
“And my question still stands, and I hope that the Russian Federation will answer that simple question,” he said.
Wood was referring to intelligence indicating that an estimated 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia for training and deployment to fight alongside the Kremlin’s troops in Ukraine, with some of the North Koreans believed to be heading to Ukraine in the coming days.
“We’re not in a court here, and the question of the United States, in the spirit of an interrogation, is not something I intend to answer,” said Russian Deputy Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva.
U.S. officials estimate that more than a half-million Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale illegal invasion on February 24, 2022. Russia, they say, is now turning to pariah state North Korea to bolster its forces.
Ambassador Wood said the Russians have trained the North Koreans in artillery and drone operations, and basic infantry operations.
“The nature of the training Russia is providing to these forces, to include trench clearing, indicates Russia intends to use these forces in front line operations,” he said.
South Korea’s envoy said Pyongyang is acting in a “more desperate and dangerous” way recently, including the blowing up of rail and road links between the two neighbors.
“And now the desperate DPRK is demanding more sacrifices from its own people by dispatching troops to Russia,” said Ambassador JoonKook Hwang.
William Pomeranz, a senior scholar at the Kennan Institute, told VOA Monday that it is unclear how experienced and professional the North Korean troops are.
“And we don’t know how they will react when faced in combat positions. They have not been basically in a war for a long time,” he said. “So, whether the North Koreans have the ability and the equipment to maintain, to keep in the battlefield, is an open question.”
Western nations have questioned what the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will get in return from Moscow for its troops. There are concerns it could include advanced military technology, possibly for its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs, in addition to economic or other support.
“North Korea could benefit politically or diplomatically,” Naoko Aoki, a political scientist at RAND Corporation told VOA. “And this is a little bit more vague than the other more tangible support, but it is nevertheless important, because Russia, as it has been doing, can shield North Korea in the U.N. Security Council so that North Korea is not faced with further sanctions for its nuclear and missile development, for example, and also basically help [it] over the long run.”
She said that would support the Kim regime’s goal of remaining in power and increasing its influence on the Korean Peninsula.
On March 28, Moscow took one such step to shield Pyongyang, using its Security Council veto to shut down the panel that monitors implementation of the council’s sanctions on North Korea — sanctions that Russia previously voted for.
Ballistic missile launch
The Security Council met Monday to discuss Pyongyang’s October 30 missile launch of a solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
“The latest ICBM is estimated to have landed in the waters near Japan, around only 200 kilometers from the island of Hokkaido,” Japan’s ambassador, Yamazaki Kazuyuki told the council. “This ICBM launch is more threatening than ever, as it reached a height of over 7,000 kilometers and a flight time of about 86 minutes — the highest and longest length trajectory of any missile that North Korea has launched to date.”
He said its estimated range capability of 15,000 kilometers covers three quarters of the planet, making it the gravest threat yet from North Korea.
North Korea’s ambassador dismissed the council’s meeting as “unlawful” and interference in its domestic affairs.
“Like all strategic weapons tests we have conducted so far, the test launching of our ICBM Hwasong-19 this time, is a part of the exercise of the just and legitimate right to self-defense to reliably safeguard security of our state as well peace of the region involved,” said Ambassador Kim Song.
Russia sides with North Korea
“The aim of convening a meeting is the same every time, to make yet another step towards demonizing the DPRK,” said Ambassador Evstigneeva. She blamed the United States for ratcheting up tension on the peninsula because of its recent military exercises with South Korea.
South Korea’s ambassador questioned the timing of the latest launch and strongly condemned it.
“Its intention could be to distract the world’s attention from its troops in Russia, demonstrate themselves as larger than life, or gain diplomatic leverage amid the U.S. presidential election,” said Ambassador Hwang.
“Regardless of the intention, it was clearly an attempt to advance its missile technology, which makes the launch another flagrant violation of multiple Security Council resolutions,” he said.
VOA’s Kim Lewis contributed reporting for this story.
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