UN chief 'very concerned' about presence of North Korean troops in Russia

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “very worried” of the presence of North Korean troops in Russia and their possible deployment on the front against Ukraine, its spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday. “This would represent a very dangerous escalation of the conflict” between kyiv and Moscow, adds the press release from Stéphane Dujarric.

The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, indicated Thursday that of the 10,000 North Korean soldiers who, according to Washington, entered Russia, up to 8,000 “were deployed in the Kursk region”in Russia, on the border with Ukraine.

North Korea has recently strengthened its military ties with Moscow, with Russian President Vladimir Putin making a rare visit to Pyongyang in June, where he signed a mutual defense agreement with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Un. North Korea will stand by Russia until its «victoire» in Ukraine, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned in Moscow on Friday.

His counterpart Sergei Lavrov greeted the “very close contacts (…) established between the military and the security services” of the two countries and expressed the «gratitude» from Moscow “for the principled position” North Korean. But Moscow and Pyongyang have neither confirmed nor denied the arrival of these troops.