SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) — South Korea and Brunei on Thursday called for the “immediate” halt to military cooperation between Russia and North Korea during the inaugural session of a bilateral defense policy dialogue, Seoul’s defense ministry said.
Lee Seung-beom, the ministry’s director general for international policy, and Poh Kui Choon, Brunei’s deputy permanent secretary of defense, issued the call during their talks in Seoul, according to the ministry.
The two sides described North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches and military cooperation with Russia, such as its troop dispatch to the country, as “grave” violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, it said.
“(They) urged an immediate halt to Russia-North Korea military cooperation,” the ministry said in a release.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country’s forces had engaged in their first battles with North Korean troops. North Korea also launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea earlier that day.
This undated image captured from the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security of Ukraine shows soldiers suspected to be North Koreans receiving apparent Russian military gear. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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