{"id":163,"date":"2025-07-13T14:41:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T14:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=163"},"modified":"2025-07-13T14:41:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T14:41:23","slug":"north-korea-unconditionally-backs-putins-war-in-ukraine-during-lavrov-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=163","title":{"rendered":"North Korea unconditionally backs Putin\u2019s war in Ukraine during Lavrov visit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__content-sign-up-topic-description o3-type-body-base\"><span>Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"article__content-sign-up-iframe close\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"signUpIframe\" data-prev-url=\"\/register\/in-article-sign-up?ft-content-uuid=e5a803d1-6b65-4ee4-b539-22312b1c963d\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>North Korea will \u201cunconditionally support\u201d Russia\u2019s goals in Ukraine, the country\u2019s leader Kim Jong Un told visiting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov this week, according to North Korea\u2019s state news agency, as the two countries reaffirmed their deepening military and economic ties. <\/p>\n<p>Lavrov met with Kim on Saturday on the leader\u2019s yacht near the coastal resort of Wonsan after arriving in North Korea to a red-carpet welcome on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Lavrov thanked his host for the weapons and troops already sent by Pyongyang to aid Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, describing it as a \u201csincere expression of solidarity\u201d, and said that the format any future military support would take was up to Kim. <\/p>\n<p>North Korean ammunition and troops played a decisive role in Russia\u2019s fight this spring to restore control over the Kursk region, swaths of which were seized and occupied by Ukrainian forces last year. <\/p>\n<p>Russia is intensifying its summer offensive in Ukraine, but it remains unclear whether North Korean troops will be involved in fighting beyond Russia\u2019s internationally recognised borders. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"n-content-image n-content-image--full\" data-component=\"image-set\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 700px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3A494b9b40-4923-4ec6-99b0-ca4ace68dc84?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3A494b9b40-4923-4ec6-99b0-ca4ace68dc84?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=2 2x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3A494b9b40-4923-4ec6-99b0-ca4ace68dc84?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=3 3x\" width=\"2103\" height=\"1402\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 490px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Ae924a347-3f56-4d85-96ed-5f3fe8c1c84c?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=490&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Ae924a347-3f56-4d85-96ed-5f3fe8c1c84c?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=490&amp;dpr=2 2x\" width=\"1402\" height=\"1402\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F494b9b40-4923-4ec6-99b0-ca4ace68dc84.jpg?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1\" alt=\"Russian troops firing towards a Ukrainian position near the border area of the Kursk region\" data-image-type=\"image\" width=\"2103\" height=\"1402\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"n-content-picture__caption o3-editorial-typography-caption\"><span>Russian troops fire towards a Ukrainian position near the border area of the Kursk region<\/span><span> <!-- -->\u00a9 Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to a new report by South Korean military intelligence, cited by news agency Yonhap on Sunday, Pyongyang has dispatched some 13,000 troops and 12mn rounds of shells to Russia since October, and is likely to send further troops this summer.<\/p>\n<p>The Kremlin has been escalating its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, with Kyiv and the surrounding region predominantly targeted in recent assaults. The attacks come as Russia gains ground in the east of the country, where its troops are advancing at their fastest pace since November.<\/p>\n<p>In June, Russian security council chair Sergei Shoigu announced that North Korea had pledged a further deployment of 6,000 military personnel, including 5,000 military construction workers, to aid Russian reconstruction efforts in its Kursk region. <\/p>\n<p>Asked whether, with Kursk retaken, North Korean troops could now support Russia\u2019s military efforts in other areas of the front line \u2014 which would entail fighting on Ukraine\u2019s sovereign territory \u2014 Lavrov said Pyongyang \u201citself determines the forms in which we implement our strategic partnership agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>That agreement, signed in June last year during Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s first visit to the isolated communist country in more than two decades, has formed the basis for North Korea\u2019s military support.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"n-content-image n-content-image--full\" data-component=\"image-set\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 700px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Aa092ae10-82b3-4b5f-a888-7a2b358fb97f?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Aa092ae10-82b3-4b5f-a888-7a2b358fb97f?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=2 2x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Aa092ae10-82b3-4b5f-a888-7a2b358fb97f?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=3 3x\" width=\"2230\" height=\"1487\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fa092ae10-82b3-4b5f-a888-7a2b358fb97f.jpg?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1\" alt=\"Sergei Lavrov, second left, attending talks with North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui, opposite, sitting around a table with their respective delegations, in Wonsan \" data-image-type=\"image\" width=\"2230\" height=\"1487\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"n-content-picture__caption o3-editorial-typography-caption\"><span>Sergei Lavrov, second left, attends talks with North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui, opposite, and their respective delegations in Wonsan on Saturday<\/span><span> <!-- -->\u00a9 Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>North Korea\u2019s official news agency summarised Lavrov\u2019s three-day visit on Sunday, saying the two countries discussed \u201cdefending the common core interests by further developing the comprehensive strategic partnership\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Kim reaffirmed that North Korea \u2018\u2018is ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis in keeping with the spirit of the interstate treaty,\u201d the KCNA news agency said. <\/p>\n<p>Alongside military co-operation, Moscow and Pyongyang have increasingly fostered economic and social ties. Some North Korean products are now appearing in Russian supermarkets, while Moscow is promoting joint infrastructure projects including the construction of a large bridge connecting the two countries. <\/p>\n<p>In a resort near the coastal city of Wonsan on Saturday, Lavrov said flight connections had been restored between Russia and North Korea, after a hiatus of several years, and said he hoped Russian tourists would increasingly choose to visit North Korea. <\/p>\n<p>Russia \u201crespects and understands\u201d North Korea\u2019s rationale for pursuing a nuclear weapons programme, Lavrov said, citing last month\u2019s US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities as evidence supporting Pyongyang\u2019s strategic calculations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is precisely because these conclusions were drawn in a timely manner that no one is even contemplating the use of force against the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea,\u201d Lavrov said. \u201cWe respect the DPRK\u2019s actions and understand the reasoning behind its nuclear ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>#North #Korea #unconditionally #backs #Putins #war #Ukraine #Lavrov #visit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. North Korea will \u201cunconditionally support\u201d Russia\u2019s goals in Ukraine, the country\u2019s leader Kim Jong Un told visiting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov this week, according to North Korea\u2019s state news agency, as the two countries [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[181,179,184,178,182,183,180,185,96],"class_list":{"0":"post-163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-backs","9":"tag-korea","10":"tag-lavrov","11":"tag-north","12":"tag-putins","13":"tag-ukraine","14":"tag-unconditionally","15":"tag-visit","16":"tag-war"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}