Top diplomats of South Korea, Britain strongly condemn North Korea's troop deployment to Russia

Seoul, Oct 22 (IANS) The top diplomats of South Korea and Britain have condemned North Korea's reported troop deployment to support Russia in Ukraine and its illegal arms trade with Moscow, noting they are monitoring what Russia might offer North Korea in return.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy made the statements in a joint text released Tuesday following their strategic dialogue held in Seoul the previous day, South Korea's foreign ministry said.

The statement on North Korea and Russia was issued separately from the joint statement on the outcome of their bilateral talks, Yonhap news agency reported.

"We condemn in the strongest terms the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's continued unlawful arms transfers and the reported deployment of its troops to the Russian Federation to support Russia's unlawful war of aggression in Ukraine," the statement read, calling North Korea by its official name.

"We are closely monitoring what Russia provides to the DPRK in return for its provision of arms and military personnel. ... We are also deeply concerned about the possibility of any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology to the DPRK, which would jeopardize the international nonproliferation efforts and threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and across the globe," it said.

Noting that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic are closely intertwined, they said that South Korea and Britain will commit to closely monitoring the situation and pursuing measures with the international community to deter any destabilising behaviour by the two isolated states.

On bilateral relations, the two sides reaffirmed the commitment to further advancing their "strategic partnership" across all areas, from security, economy, climate change and green energy to science and technology, in line with the Downing Street Accord signed between the leaders of the two countries last year.

They also agreed to continue high-level exchanges, including pushing for a "two plus two" meeting of foreign and defence ministers in early 2025, to enhance cooperation in addressing various regional and global issues, according to the statement.

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