Moscow's arms imports from DPRK “betrayal” of int’l community - South Korea

South Korea's Defense Minister Shin Won Sik says more evidence duggests weapons Russia is using against Ukraine were illegally imported from North Korea, decrying Moscow's dealings with Pyongyang as betrayal of the international community.

The minister made the statement while speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue Asian Security Forum in Singapore, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Today we are seeing more and more evidence that the weapons Russia is using to attack Ukraine were illegally imported from North Korea," Shin said.

He emphasized that Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, should stand guard over global peace, but instead buys weapons from a regime that violates numerous resolutions of the UN Security Council, for which Moscow itself voted.

"This is an outrageous, glaring contradiction to one's own decisions and a betrayal of the international community," the minister said.

He added that North Korea uses Russia’s money and technology received in exchange for weapons to build up its military capabilities, therefore not only does the strengthening of military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang escalate the Russo-Ukrainian war, it also threatens a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula and the expansion of hostilities across Europe.

"Arms trade between Russia and North Korea is a flagrant violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions and must be stopped immediately for the sake of peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the international community," Shin said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, 10 nations and the European Union jointly condemned the illegal military cooperation between Russia and the DPRK.