We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) continued unlawful arms transfers to the Russian Federation for its use in attacking Ukraine and the deployment of DPRK special forces to Russia, supporting Russia’s unlawful war of aggression. This constitutes a serious breach of international law, including the most fundamental principles of the UN Charter. Such cooperation between the DPRK and Russia is not only in flagrant violation of multiple UNSC resolutions, but it also prolongs the suffering of the Ukrainian people and threatens the security of the world, including that of the Republic of Korea and Europe.

We are closely monitoring what Russia provides to the DPRK in return for its provision of arms and military personnel, including Russia’s possible provision of materials and technology to the DPRK in support of Pyongyang’s military objectives. We are also deeply concerned about the possibility for any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology to the DPRK, which would jeopardise the international non-proliferation efforts and threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and across the globe.

We strongly call on the DPRK and Russia to immediately cease unlawful military cooperation and withdraw DPRK troops from Russia. We reiterate our call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and urge the DPRK to take concrete steps towards abandoning all nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and related programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. The DPRK cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear weapon State in accordance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We are concerned about the disturbing shift of Russia’s position on the denuclearization of the DPRK, as expressed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and call on Russia to abide by its obligations under the NPT and multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

We take note that the security of the Indo-Pacific and European regions are more closely intertwined than ever, and commit ourselves to closely monitoring the situation and actively pursuing necessary measures together with the international community.