Kim Jong Un meets Russian Defense Minister Belousov, backs attacks in Ukraine

Kim Jong Un meets Russian Defense Minister Belousov, backs attacks in Ukraine
by David Caprara
Washington DC (UPI) Nov 30, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov that the U.S. authorization of Ukraine to fire missiles into Russia represented a direct U.S. intervention in the war during a meeting Friday in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Kim Jong Un said that "the U.S. and the West made Kyiv authorities attack Russia's territory with their own long-range strike weapons," according to a report by North Korean state news network KCNA on Saturday,

Russia, he said, should take action so that "hostile forces pay the price."

According to the Rodong Sinmun, Kim and Belousov exchanged "broad and satisfactory views" on the deepening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea.

Earlier this month U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-made ATACMS missiles that were launched into Russia on the 1,000th day of the war.

In response to Ukraine's missile strikes utilizing these U.S.-made systems, Russia unleashed attacks against Ukraine's military and energy infrastructures. In an unprecedented escalation, it was the first combat use of its hypersonic Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced after the counterattack plans to commence mass production of these experimental missiles. Ukrainian military analysts stated that the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile travels through the earth's upper atmosphere at speeds exceeding Mach 10, which is 7,610 mph, making it particularly challenging to intercept.

Kim was quoted by KCNA on Saturday as describing Ukraine's missile strikes as "irresponsible actions that will prolong the conflict and threaten all of humanity" and described Russia's counterattacks as a "rightful exercise of self-defense."

Kim Jong Un reportedly made his support to Russia clear in this meeting.

"The DPRK government, army and people will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists' moves for hegemony," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

In June, Kim signed a mutual defense agreement with Russia and pledged to expand ties with Russia in all areas.

At Friday's meeting, the Russian defense minister reportedly invited a "DPRK military unit" to join Russia's annual parade on Moscow's Red Square on May 9, which will mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. For North Korea and South Korea, 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonization. However, it also marks the beginning of the division of the Korean peninsula.

Earlier this month the South Korean government reported that up to 3,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia to assist in the war with Ukraine. U.S. military analysts suspect that this was in return for military intelligence of technology and that this number could increase to up to 10,000. Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has ignored sanctions placed on North Korea and has accepted North Korean-made weapons for use in the war.

In September, The Wall Street Journal reported that about one million Ukrainians and Russians have been killed or wounded since the war began, citing intelligence and undisclosed sources.

In an interview broadcast by Sky News on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that war could end if unoccupied Ukraine were brought into NATO.

This prospect remains theoretical, however. When the war first broke out in 2022 Putin cited Russia being surrounded by NATO countries as one of the provocations that incited it to invade Ukraine.

The recent intensification of conflict by Ukraine and Russia comes just weeks before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. On the campaign trail, Trump claimed that he would be able to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia within one day of being elected.

The president-elect has yet to announce what his strategy for brokering a peace deal will be. Removing U.S. involvement from Ukraine was one of the major pillars of the president-elect's campaign promises, however, and it is expected that shifts in U.S. policy will come after he takes office for his second presidency on Jan. 20.