This article is published in association with United Nations.
US and allies are ‘biggest threat’ to global peace: DPRK
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Ambassador Song Kim of the DPRK strongly denounced “the US and its followers” for holding the meeting “to distort the essence of the situation, out of their hostile policies and sordid political motives” against his country and Russia.
He said that if the Council has to convene a meeting, “it should duly call into question the crime against humanity of Israel and its accomplice the US”, and also take issue with Ukraine’s “aggressive act of invading the Russian people’s sacred territory of Kursk”.
“The biggest threat to international peace and security at present is the acts of the United States and its allies against peace, who are obsessed with hegemonic ambition to stir up confrontation and conflicts among countries, while making frantic efforts to strengthen their aggressive alliances and war moves,” he said.
Ambassador Kim insisted that the DPRK and Russia “are entitled to develop bilateral relations in all fields”, in full conformity with the recognized norms of international law under the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership concluded between the two countries.
“If Russia’s sovereignty and security interests are exposed to and threatened by the continued dangerous attempts of the US and the West, and if it is judged that we should respond to them with something, we will make a necessary decision,” he added. 30 Οκτ 2024 11:39 μ.μ.
Ukraine: Russian and DPRK militaries constitute a threat to ‘neighbours and beyond’
UN Photo/Loey Felipe
“We requested this meeting to address another step taken by Moscow to further escalate its war against Ukraine,” Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the Security Council.
“According to available information” the Ukrainian Permanent Representative added that up to 12,000 North Korean servicemen are stationed “at five training grounds in the Eastern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces.”
He said that “between October 23 and 28, at least seven aircraft carrying military personnel of up to 2,100 soldiers flew from the Eastern Military District to Russia’s border with Ukraine.”
“Building the interoperability of the Russian and DPRK armies constitutes a threat to Europe, the Korean peninsula, its neighbors and beyond,” Mr. Kyslytsya warned, emphasising the global security implications.
“Russia continues its attacks on the DPRK sanctions regime, and its final goal seems to be clear – to dismantle the entire system of global deterrence of the Pyongyang regime,” the Ambassador stressed.
Russia’s ‘river of blood’
“Open your eyes! Russia is not crossing your red lines – it is walking down a red carpet… In truth, it is not even a red carpet, but a river of blood, one that began the moment Russia was given the Soviet seat in this Chamber,” Mr. Kyslytsya declared.
“What else needs to happen for the world to finally accept the truth that Russia will not cease further damaging the cornerstones of global security until they are dismantled or until Russia is stopped?”, he concluded. 30 Οκτ 2024 11:26 μ.μ.
China: ‘Increasingly grave humanitarian crisis’
UN News
Deputy Permanent Representative of China Geng Shuang stated the “current situation has reached another critical moment, with increasingly complex risks”.
He emphasised that the “increasingly grave humanitarian crisis is deeply deplorable and worrisome”.
Mr. Shuang underlined China’s role in “restoring peace”, calling on Moscow and Kyiv to “show political will, start peace talks and for international communities to make favorable conditions for this”.
He urged “all parties to abide by three principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no provocation of any party to prevent the situation from getting out of control.”
Mr. Shuang concluded by outlining China’s stance on the path forward, reiterating that “maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula”. 30 Οκτ 2024 11:14 μ.μ.
Humanitarians are not a target
Update on Ukraine’s post-war recovery
Russia accuses West of hysteria, ‘egregious double standards’
Russia’s Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told ambassadors the West was guilty of “egregious double standards” in calling Wednesday’s meeting, accusing Washington and London of pushing open disinformation, reaching a “new low today” in their attempt to cover up Ukraine’s “crimes”.
He said statements regarding North Korean soldiers are “all barefaced lies” designed to justify the West’s own decision to send NATO troops to shore up Kyiv.
He added that foreigners on the battlefield in Ukraine were being “destroyed by the dozen” every day by Russia’s forces, noting that the “hysterics” over DPRK coincide with a Kyiv decree to allow foreigners to command Ukrainian troops.
Western ‘exceptionalism’
He said even if all the allegations were true, why are the US and allies asserting their right to help Kyiv, and deny that same right to Russia?
“Ladies and gentlemen, where do you get this neocolonial feeling of your own exceptionalism and impunity and your belief that what you are allowed to do, others are prohibited from undertaking?” he asked.
He said DPRK was a neighbour and close partner, and Russia is developing a “transparent” relationship with Pyongyang in “many areas”.
Russian interaction with DPRK is in line with international law and poses no threat to third countries, he added. 30 Οκτ 2024 10:42 μ.μ.
Use of DPRK soldiers would mark further escalation, sign of desperation: US
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
United States Ambassador Robert Wood said that for 979 days, Russia has waged a brutal full-scale war against a fellow UN Member State and its people, and with each passing day, as Russia suffers immense loses, the Kremlin has grown increasingly desperate.
“Inviting North Korea to join the war would be a brazen escalation of Russia’s aggression and a threat to global safety and security,” he said.
He told the Council that the US has seen additional reporting which indicates that North Korean soldiers have started arriving in western Russia.
The US also believes that the DPRK has sent roughly 10,000 soldiers to train in the east who will probably augment Russian forces near Ukraine in the next several weeks. Some have already moved closer to the country.
“We are increasingly concerned Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk oblast, near the border with Ukraine. We are watching closely for such indications and consulting with our Ukrainian partners,” he said.
The ambassador urged Russia not to take these steps.
“Should DPRK soldiers be used in the battlefield, this would mark a further and serious escalation of the conflict,” he said.
“The decision to deploy North Korean soldiers would also be an inescapably clear demonstration that Russia is growing more desperate, having already suffered more than a half million casualties,” he added. 30 Οκτ 2024 10:14 μ.μ.
United Kingdom: ‘They should end war now’ as casualties reach 600,000
UNICEF Ukraine
Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom Barbara Woodward warned of escalating DPRK involvement.
“Today, the DPRK’s support for Russia goes even further,” Ms. Woodward stated, asserting that “Pyongyang has supplied munitions, arms and other materials and 10,000 troops have arrived in Russia, with a significant number believed to be deploying to Kursk”, inside Russia itself, where Ukraine has opened a new front.
“Russia has now suffered over 600,000 casualties,” the ambassador said, adding that “instead of sending other countries’ sons to die for the imperialistic whims of one man, they should end war now”.
Ms. Woodward highlighted the cost of conflict, noting “defense and security will consume over 40 per cent of State spending next year” in Russia, while warning that DPRK military cooperation “risks further raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula”.
“Any country providing assistance to Russia’s aggression is thereby prolonging Russia’s illegal war,” she emphasised, reaffirming support for Ukraine’s right to self-defence under the UN charter.
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