Over 40 countries condemn Pyongyang

A U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine is held at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Monday (local time). AFP-Yonhap

South Korea and more than 40 other nations jointly condemned Pyongyang and Moscow for their arms transfers on Monday as concerns are rising that Ukraine could be used as a testing ground for North Korean missiles.

At a press conference held before a U.N. Security Council (UNSC) meeting at its headquarters in New York, diplomats from 46 countries and the European Union called on North Korea and Russia to abide by the Security Council resolutions. They expressed concern that Russia's use of North Korea's ballistic missiles for its war effort in Ukraine could provide the regime with valuable data regarding their real-world performance.

South Korean Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook called the arms transfers between the two countries a direct, unprecedented violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions with the involvement of a permanent member of the council.

“Russia’s use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine also has significant implications on global nuclear nonproliferation as well as on the Korean Peninsula … Since it is unprecedented that UNSC resolutions were violated so flagrantly and seriously by a permanent member of the security council since the sanction regime was established against the DPRK (North Korea) in 2006, it is difficult to fathom the repercussions,” Hwang said at the meeting.

Hwang said that sales of the weapons would allow the sanctions-hit regime to collect more hard currency, which it needs for the development of its nuclear and missile programs. “It could open the door for more arms sales to other states and non-state actors,” he added.

Tactical ballistic missiles, which are believed to be able to carry a nuclear payload and strike anywhere in South Korea, are among the suspected North Korean weapons being supplied to Russian troops on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Pyongyang’s military support, proven with satellite photos of its cargo shipments to Russia among many other ways, has played an increasingly crucial role in sustaining Russian aggression in Ukraine recently as its own production capacity struggles to keep up, experts say.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of State confirmed that some North Korean ballistic missiles were used for Russian attacks on Ukrainians on Dec. 30, 2023, and Jan. 2 and 6 this year.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov listens during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine at U.N. headquarters in New York, Monday (local time). AFP-Yonhap

Little is known about what North Korea has received in return. At the very minimum, it was given a chance to test its weapons in real-world combat situations, said Cho Han-bum, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute of National Unification, a think tank.

“Objective information on the performance of weapons in actual combat is critical for any country. Data from its weapons used in Ukraine would help the regime refine future designs and military strategies,” Cho told The Korea Times. “In addition, North Korea may be able to receive technical support, food or energy from Russia, who can provide them all of those.”

Restricted by heavy sanctions for decades, North Korea would appreciate any support for its military, he said.

“It doesn’t have to be advanced technology. Currently, North Korea is said to have operated only 10 of the MiG-29 fighter jets it has due to a lack of components. Russia could provide help or simply offer dozens of the MiG-29 series aircraft it no longer uses. Such a possibility poses a significant threat to South Korea,” he said.

According to a Guardian report, British defense intelligence secured satellite imagery, taken between September and December 2023, of three Russian ships loading containers at North Korea’s revived Najin port before transiting to Russian ports in the Far East.