Russia’s military interaction with North Korea does not violate international law, the country’s representative to the United Nations told the UN Security Council, calling reports that North Korean troops were present on the front lines of the war against Ukraine as “blatant lies.”

“I would like to emphasize that Russia’s interaction with the DPRK in the military and other spheres is in line with international law and does not constitute a violation of it. It is not directed against third countries,” Vasily Nebenzya said at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, using the acronym of the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

This came on the same day that the defense chiefs of the United States and South Korea called on North Korea to withdraw its troops from Russia, where Washington says about 10,000 of them have been deployed for possible use against Ukrainian forces.

“I ask you to withdraw your troops from Russia,” said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, along with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-hyun, who urged the “immediate withdrawal” of Pyongyang’s forces.

Austin said the United States “will continue to work with allies and partners to deter Russia from employing these troops in combat,” but warned that Moscow is likely to do so.

The Pentagon said the day before that a “small number” of North Korean troops have already been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have been carrying out a ground offensive since August.

Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting, Russia’s Nebenzya said: “These statements about North Korean soldiers on our front should not surprise anyone, because they are all blatant lies and are trying to distract.”

He later added: “Even if everything our Western colleagues say about cooperation between Russia and North Korea is true, why are the United States and its allies trying to impose on everyone the erroneous logic that they have the right to do so? to help the regime of (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy mobilize NATO military and intelligence, and Russia and its allies do not have the right to do something similar?

North Korea’s ambassador to the UN, Kim Song, told the UN Security Council that the DPRK and Russia “have the right to develop bilateral relations in all fields.”

He added that “the greatest threat to international peace and security today is the acts of the United States and its allies against peace.”

Russia and North Korea have boosted their political and military alliance during the course of the Ukraine conflict. Both are under sanctions: Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons program and Moscow for its war against kyiv. North Korea’s move to strengthen its relationship with Russia has set off alarms around the world.

Key concerns

At the Pentagon, Austin said officials are discussing what to do about the troop deployment, which he said had the potential to widen or prolong the conflict in Ukraine. When asked if it could prompt other nations to become more directly involved in the conflict, he acknowledged that it could “encourage others to take action,” but did not provide details.

South Korea’s Kim said he does not necessarily believe the deployment would trigger a war on the Korean Peninsula, but it could increase security threats between the two nations.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, told the UN Security Council that Russia’s actions with North Korea were “another step taken by Moscow to further escalate its war against Ukraine.”

“Building interoperability of the Russian and DPRK militaries constitutes a threat to Europe, the Korean Peninsula, its neighbors and beyond,” he added.

A key concern is what North Korea will get in return for providing troops. But officials have yet to say specifically what Pyongyang may have requested or what Moscow has offered.

Experts have said that in exchange for these forces, North Korea likely intends to acquire military technology, from surveillance satellites to submarines, as well as possible security guarantees from Moscow.

A Ukrainian official told The Associated Press news agency that North Korean troops are currently stationed 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Ukraine’s border with Russia. The official was not authorized to disclose the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

At the UN Security Council meeting, Kyslytsya stated that up to 12,000 North Korean military personnel are stationed in five training camps of the Russian Armed Forces. He added that between October 23 and 28, at least seven planes carrying up to 2,100 soldiers flew from the Eastern Military District to Russia’s border with Ukraine.

North Korea has also provided munitions to Russia, and earlier this month the White House released images it said showed North Korea sending 1,000 containers of military equipment there by rail.

The fight continues

Meanwhile, on the ground, Russia and Ukraine exchanged dozens of drone strikes on Wednesday.

A Russian guided bomb fell on the fourth floor of a high-rise apartment building in Kharkiv, causing casualties, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.

Earlier, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 62 drones and one missile overnight, adding that 33 of them were intercepted and 25 jammed. According to the city administration, the attack injured nine people in kyiv.

Russian attacks also targeted other regions of Ukraine, killing at least four and wounding about 30 more in the past 24 hours, officials said.

At the same time, Russian forces have continued their slow offensive in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry announced the capture of the village of Kruhlyakivka in the Kharkiv region and said air defenses shot down 25 Ukrainian drones in several regions in the west and southwest of the country.

The new attacks come as North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui traveled to Russia for talks that South Korea’s spy agency said could involve discussions about sending additional troops to Russia. .