Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Arms Trade with North Korea is 'Illegal'... Comprehensive Review of Facts Underway"

Suspicion of Supplying Conventional Weapons Such as Shells to Russian Forces
"Illegal Arms Trade Must Be Immediately Halted"

On the 1st, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Illegal arms transactions with North Korea must be stopped immediately."

At a regular briefing that day, Deputy Spokesperson Lim said in response to questions about suspicions that North Korea is supplying conventional weapons such as artillery shells to Russian forces engaged in the war in Ukraine, "(Arms transactions with North Korea) directly violate the UN Security Council's sanctions resolutions against North Korea and undermine international peace and stability."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "Our government imposes independent sanctions on individuals and organizations that contribute to North Korea's illegal nuclear and missile development or support and engage in violations of sanctions against North Korea," and "We plan to comprehensively review all matters, including the facts we have identified ourselves regarding arms transactions between Russia and North Korea and whether the relevant legal requirements are met."

Regarding whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is communicating with the United States on this matter, an official said, "We are communicating through diplomatic channels," and "We consider not only the independent information necessary for unilateral sanctions but also reports on related agencies' trends and the overall situation, including whether the requirements are met."

According to the UN Security Council's sanctions resolutions against North Korea, all arms transactions with North Korea are prohibited. The United States has repeatedly condemned North Korea for supplying weapons to Russia, but North Korea and Russia have denied this. Suspicions that North Korea supplies weapons to Russia have been continuously raised since Russia's military invasion of Ukraine began in February last year.

Regarding North Korea's events such as the military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the 'Victory Day' (the day the Korean War armistice agreement was signed) on the 27th of last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "We condemn the reckless expenditure of enormous resources on the military parade while ignoring the hardships of the people and the repeated threats to use nuclear weapons."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.