Blinken calls for joint efforts to address Russia’s military cooperation with N. Korea, Iran

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday made an emphatic call for international efforts to address Russia’s military cooperation with North Korea and Iran, saying it is helping Moscow cause “carnage” in Ukraine and would imperil global security.

Blinken made the remarks during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine at the U.N. headquarters in New York, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and other high-level officials were present.

“Support from Tehran and Pyongyang is helping Putin inflict carnage, suffering and ruin on innocent Ukrainian men, women and children; demolish Ukrainian apartment buildings, grain silos and ports; ravage Ukrainian power plants, heating and natural gas facilities just as freezing temperatures are setting in,” Blinken said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 24, 2024, in this photo captured from U.N. Web TV.
(PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 24, 2024, in this photo captured from U.N. Web TV. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The secretary expressed concerns that the more Russia relies on support from the North and Iran, the more Iran and North Korea “extract” in return.

“And the more Putin gives to Pyongyang and Tehran, the more he exacerbates threats to peace and security — not just in Europe, but in the Indo-Pacific, in the Middle East, all around the globe,” he said.

As Pyongyang increases its military support for Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin has reciprocated with military commitments and other rewards, including Russia’s veto to end the work of a sanctions-monitoring U.N. panel and Russian banks’ alleged aid to help the North evade sanctions, Blinken pointed out.

“All this for a regime that has carried out more than 150 ballistic missile tests since 2022 and w
hose leader routinely threatens to obliterate South Korea and Japan, and other countries,” he said.

The secretary also took a swipe at China for its support for Russia’s defense industrial base.

“China, another permanent member of this council, is the top provider of machine tools, microelectronics and other items that Russia is using to rebuild, to restock, to ramp up its war machine and sustain its brutal aggression,” he said.

In his remarks, Zelenskyy lambasted Russia over its arms transactions with North Korea and Iran.

“Russia has no legitimate reason, not at all, for making Iran and North Korea de facto accomplices in its criminal war in Europe with their weapons killing us, killing Ukrainians and helping Putin steal our land from our people,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 24, 2024, in this photo captured from U.N. Web TV. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Ukrainian President Volod
ymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 24, 2024, in this photo captured from U.N. Web TV. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho expressed “grave” concerns over military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

“The deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, which was highlighted by the signing of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, not only threatens the peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, but also of Europe,” he said.

“It is deplorable that Russia, a permanent Security Council member and one of the founding states for the nonproliferation regime violates Security Council resolutions.”

Cho also stressed that any cooperation between the North and Russia that directly or indirectly aids North Korea’s military capability is a “blatant” violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and undermines the nonproliferation regime.

Source: Yonhap News Agency