North Korea’s top diplomat is in Moscow as Pyongyang sent troops to help the war on Ukraine

Russia’s apical diplomat connected Friday hosted his North Korean counterpart for talks amid reports that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its subject successful nan warfare successful Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui’s sojourn to Moscow and her gathering pinch Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov came connected nan heels of nan Pentagon’s connection that North Korea has deployed about 10,000 troops to Russia to conflict against Ukraine wrong “the adjacent respective weeks.”

Western leaders person described nan North Korean unit deployment arsenic a important escalation that could besides jolt relations successful nan Indo-Pacific region.

Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang person specified nan schedule for Choe’s talks successful Moscow, but successful a closed-door proceeding astatine South Korea’s parliament, nan South’s spy agency said Choe whitethorn beryllium progressive successful high-level discussions connected sending further troops to Russia and negotiating what nan North would get successful return.

South Korean and Western officials person voiced interest that Russia whitethorn connection exertion that could beforehand nan threat posed by North Korea’s atomic weapons and rocket program.

Meeting Choe successful Moscow connected Friday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hailed ties betwixt Moscow and Pyongyang, saying that they “have reached an unprecedented precocious level complete nan past fewer years,” and projected discussing nan implementation of nan strategical business statement nan 2 nations signed earlier this year.

“We will person discussions connected a bid of issues regarding authorities and overseas argumentation arsenic good arsenic matters that require a associated consequence betwixt nan Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and nan Russian Federation,” Choe said, invoking nan North’s general name.

She reiterated Pyongyang’s support “for nan conscionable conflict of Russia’s subject and group to take sides their country’s sovereign authorities and information interests” successful Ukraine.

Moscow and Pyongyang person responded vaguely to South Korean and Western claims of nan North Korean unit deployment to Russia, emphasizing that their subject practice conforms pinch world law, without straight admitting nan beingness of nan North’s forces successful Russia.

The United States and its friends besides person accused North Korea of providing millions of artillery shells and different instrumentality to Russia to substance its subject action successful Ukraine.

Russia, on pinch China, has blocked U.S.-led efforts astatine nan Security Council to tighten sanctions connected North Korea complete its caller rocket testing, which intensified aft Russia’s penetration of Ukraine successful 2022. Russia besides vetoed a U.N. solution to widen nan instruction of monitors successful March, successful a move that efficaciously abolished oversight by U.N. experts of Security Council sanctions against North Korea.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol past period raised nan anticipation of supplying Ukraine pinch weapons while saying Seoul is preparing countermeasures that could beryllium rolled retired successful stages depending connected nan grade of subject practice betwixt Pyongyang and Moscow.

South Korea, a increasing arms exporter, has provided humanitarian assistance and different non-lethal support to Ukraine and joined U.S.-led economical sanctions against Moscow. It has truthful acold resisted calls by Kyiv and NATO to straight proviso Ukraine pinch weapons, citing a longstanding argumentation of not providing arms to countries engaged successful progressive conflict.

In different developments:

— Russia launched 3 aviation missiles and 48 drones of various types, including Shaheds, astatine Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian aerial unit said. One rocket and 31 drones were intercepted, 14 drones were jammed, 3 drones flew to nan territory of Belarus, nan aerial unit said successful a study connected Friday greeting said. Several civilian facilities, arsenic good arsenic flat buildings and backstage houses successful Poltava, Cherkasy, Kyiv and Odesa regions were damaged by drone debris.

— The Russian subject connected Friday said it intercepted and destroyed a full of 83 Ukrainian drones complete 4 Russian regions adjacent nan separator pinch Ukraine and nan annexed Crimean Peninsula. In nan Bryansk region, a drone deed a residential block, section authorities said. No casualties were reported. In nan Stavropol region, a drone deed an lipid depot, according to section officials. Unconfirmed media reports said nan lipid depot caught fire.