During a meeting with Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged that his country would "invariably support" Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Source: Associated Press with reference to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)

Details: A Russian military delegation, led by Belousov, arrived in North Korea on 29 November amid growing cooperation between the two nations.

Quote: "The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim and Belousov reached 'a satisfactory consensus' on boosting strategic partnership and defending each country’s sovereignty, security interests and international justice in the face of the rapidly-changing international security environments."

Details: Kim stated that North Korea "will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists’ moves for hegemony".

North Korea has supported Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, describing it as a defensive response to what both Moscow and Pyongyang call the "reckless" eastward expansion of NATO and US-led efforts to undermine Russia’s status as a powerful state.

Background:

• On 11 September, The New York Times reported that Russia had received new Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles from North Korea, which were used for strikes on Kyiv this summer. The Hwasong-11 has a range of about 700 km and can carry either nuclear or conventional warheads.
• In November, reports emerged that North Korea was significantly expanding a key ballistic missile production facility, supplying weapons used by Russia in its war against Ukraine.
• The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers are stationed in Russia's Kursk Oblast and they have already participated in combat against Ukraine’s defence forces.

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