(3rd LD) Top S. Korean, U.S., Japanese security officials voice ‘grave concern’ over N.K. troop dispatch to Russia: White House

The national security advisors of South Korea, the United States and Japan expressed “grave concern” Friday over North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia possibly for use in the war against Ukraine, and called for the two countries to cease such military cooperation, a White House official said.

National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said that South Korea’s National Security Advisor Shin Won-sik and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Jake Sullivan and Takeo Akiba, respectively, held a trilateral meeting in Washington to discuss the issue and other matters of mutual concern.

The meeting came as Seoul and Washington have confirmed that Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to eastern Russia by ship earlier this month — a culmination of their deepening military cooperation in the midst of the protracted war in Ukraine.

“In particular, the national security advisors expressed grave concern over troop deployments by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to Russia, potentially for use on the
battlefield against Ukraine,” he said in a virtual briefing, referring to North Korea by its official name.

“This deployment is the latest in a series of concerning indicators of deepening military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including arms and ballistic missile transfers that are in direct violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions,” he added.

Shin, Sullivan and Akiba called on Russia and North Korea to cease these actions that “only serve to expand the security implications of Russia’s brutal and illegal war beyond Europe and into the Indo- Pacific,” according to Kirby.

“The three national security advisors reaffirmed their commitment to address common regional and global challenges and to promote security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” the White House official said.

On the eve of the three-way talks, Shin held bilateral talks with Sullivan to discuss the North’s troop deployment to Russia and other issues.

“The two officials condemned in the strongest possible
terms the DPRK’s ongoing support to Russia’s brutal and illegal war against Ukraine, including the deployment of troops to Russia as well as the transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia and Russia’s use of these missiles against Ukraine,” the White House said in a readout.

“The DPRK’s support is directly increasing the suffering of the Ukrainian people, violates multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, undermines the global non-proliferation regime, and has significant security implications for Europe, the Korean Peninsula, and the Indo-Pacific region,” it added.

In a separate press briefing, Shin said that he and Sullivan discussed how to respond to possible “scenarios” that could unfold as military cooperation between the North and Russia progresses following the North’s troop dispatch. He did not elaborate.

Shin stressed that there is no disagreement among Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo over the assessment of the North’s troop dispatch to Russia, and that the three sides agreed to work together with th
e international community to “sternly” deal with a deepening military alignment between Pyongyang and Moscow.

“South Korea, the U.S. and Japan all agreed that North Korea’s troop deployment is a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and is an act that seriously undermines security in the international community as well as on the Korean Peninsula,” Shin said.

“The three countries agreed to sternly deal with close military ties between the North and Russia in tandem with the international community, and work closely together to take necessary measures according to how the situation progresses going forward,” he added.

Shin and Sullivan also discussed recent “concerning” actions by Pyongyang, including changes to its constitution to define South Korea as a “hostile” state and the destruction of roads and railways connecting the two Koreas.

“The two officials reaffirmed that the United States and the ROK will maintain a strong combined defense posture in the face of the DPRK’s activities in bo
rder areas,” the White House said, noting Sullivan reiterated America’s “ironclad” security commitment to South Korea. ROK stands for the South’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

During Friday’s talks, Shin, Sullivan and Akiba also reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to trilateral cooperation.

“(They) resolved to institutionalize efforts to build a new era of trilateral partnership that will be a force for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond for years to come,” Kirby said during the briefing.

They committed to work toward a trilateral summit “at the earliest opportunity,” he noted.

Moreover, the officials “strongly” opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, and underscored their commitment to the global maritime order as reflected in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Separately on Friday, Shin and Akiba held bilateral talks and agreed to continue to reinforce bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral
cooperation with the U.S. to deal with the increasingly “grave” security situation driven by the North’s nuclear and missile provocations and “illegal” military cooperation between the North and Russia, Seoul’s presidential office said.

The two sides also agreed to work together to make 2025 a “historical milestone” for relations between South Korea and Japan as next year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties, it added.

On Friday night (Korea time), North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong-gyu said via state media that if true, the North’s troop deployment would be in line with international law — a remark seen as an apparent acknowledgement of the deployment.

Seoul’s top intelligence agency has confirmed that Pyongyang is expected to send some 10,000 troops to Russia by the end of this year, including around 3,000 troops already dispatched. The White House has also said that at least 3,000 North Korean troops were moved to eastern Russia earlier this month.

Fri
day’s gathering is the second meeting between the three countries’ national security advisors since President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a landmark three-way summit at Camp David in August last year. It is also the fifth such meeting of the Biden administration.

Source: Yonhap News Agency