The G7 worries about a military escalation in Ukraine with North Korean support

ROME (Reuters) – Foreign ministers from the G7 countries, as well as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, say they are seriously concerned by the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia and the possibility that they are involved in the war against Ukraine.

“Direct support by the DPRK (North Korea) for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, apart from demonstrating Russia's desperate efforts to compensate for its losses, would mark a dangerous extension of the conflict,” they underline in a joint declaration made public on Tuesday.

The G7 brings together the United States, Japan, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, France and Canada.

The ministers condemn “in the strongest possible terms” the strengthening of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including Russia's “illegal purchase” of North Korean ballistic missiles.

They also express their deep concern about the risks of transfer of nuclear technologies or ballistic missiles to North Korea, and affirm their intention to collaborate with international partners “for a coordinated response to this new development”.

(Reporting Angelo Amante, editorial staff Gavin Jones; French version Noémie Naudin; edited by Sophie Louet)