US: NKorea Supporting Russian War      10/17 06:14

   

   SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The U.S. and its allies are "alarmed" by North 
Korea's nuclear and missile threats as well as its increasing military support 
for Russia's war in Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday, but 
couldn't confirm Ukrainian claims that North Korean soldiers were sent to fight 
for Moscow.

   U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke with reporters following 
discussions with South Korean and Japanese counterparts on reinvigorating an 
international pressure campaign against North Korea, which faltered in recent 
years amid a deepening divide at the U.N. Security Council.

   Earlier on Wednesday, Washington, Seoul and Tokyo announced plans with eight 
Western governments to launch a new multinational team to monitor the 
enforcement of sanctions against North Korea.

   Russia in March vetoed a U.N. resolution in a move that effectively 
abolished monitoring by U.N. experts of Security Council sanctions against 
North Korea. It prompted Western accusations that Moscow was acting to shield 
its arms purchases from Pyongyang to fuel its war in Ukraine.

   Campbell said there are signs that North Korea was increasing its support of 
materials, including artillery and missiles, for Russia's war on Ukraine, which 
he said was "creating further instability in Europe." He said the U.S. was 
still evaluating reports that North Korea was also sending personnel.

   "We are concerned by them and ... we agreed that we will continue to monitor 
the situation closely," Campbell said about the claims.

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that North Korea is sending 
military personnel to help Russia's war effort, without providing details. 
Ukrainian media reported earlier this month that six North Koreans were among 
those killed after a Ukrainian missile strike in the partially occupied eastern 
Donetsk region on Oct. 3.

   North Korea has also been making increasingly provocative threats against 
rival South Korea, including accusing the South of infiltrating drones to drop 
anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang and threatening to attack 
if it happens again.

   North Korea on Tuesday blew up the northern sections of unused road and rail 
routes that once linked it with South Korea, in a choreographed demolition 
demonstrating its growing anger with South Korea's conservative government.

   Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have spiked since 2022, as North Korean 
leader Kim Jong Un used Russia's war on Ukraine as a window to dial up his 
weapons testing activities and threats. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have 
strengthened their combined military exercises in response and took steps to 
sharpen their nuclear deterrence strategies built around strategic U.S. assets.

   Following his talks with Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister 
Masataka Okano, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun said that the 
countries condemn the North's "intentional moves to create tensions."

   "We have agreed to maintain a solid South Korea-U.S. combined posture to 
respond firmly to North Korean provocations and strengthen security cooperation 
through close coordination between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan," Kim said.

   The diplomats issued a joint statement condemning North Korea over its 
nuclear and missile developments, deepening military cooperation with Russia 
and various illicit activities to fund its weapons program and highlighted 
United States' "ironclad" commitment to defend its allies.

   The statement also reflected growing regional tensions with China.

   The diplomats expressed their opposition to "any unilateral attempts to 
change the status quo" in Indo-Pacific waters and "unlawful maritime claims" in 
the South China Sea. They also criticized China's recent drills around Taiwan 
and stressed that "no further actions should be taken that could undermine 
peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."