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North Korea warns US of ‘new world war’ over Ukraine after pact with Putin
- The pact signed during Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang last week commits each side to provide immediate military assistance to the other
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A top North Korean military official on Monday criticised the United States over its expanding military assistance to Ukraine, reaffirming the reclusive state’s support for Moscow in the Ukraine war, according to state media KCNA.
Washington and Seoul have been increasingly alarmed by deepening military cooperation between Russia and the North, and have accused them of violating international laws by trading in arms for Russia to use against Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied any arms transfer.
A pact signed by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang last week commits each side to provide immediate military assistance to the other in the event of armed aggression against either one of them.
Putin on Monday thanked Kim for his hospitality during the trip which brought ties to an unprecedented level, the Kremlin said on Monday.
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Analysts say that pact would lay the framework for arms trade between the two countries and facilitate their anti-US and anti-West coalition.
Pak Jong-chon, one of North Korea’s top military officials, said Russia has the “right to opt for any kind of retaliatory strike” in a statement carried by state media KCNA on Monday, adding if Washington kept pushing Ukraine to a “proxy war” against Russia, it could provoke a stronger response from Moscow, and a “new world war”.
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He referred to comments by the Pentagon last week that Ukrainian forces can use US-supplied weapons to strike Russian forces anywhere across the border into Russia.
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