South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Hwang Joon-kook speaks during a U.N. Security Council session, in this undated photo captured from U.N. Web TV. [YONHAP]
South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Hwang Joon-kook speaks during a U.N. Security Council session, in this undated photo captured from U.N. Web TV. [YONHAP]
South Korea's top envoy to the United Nations urged North Korea Wednesday to stop sacrificing its people to maintain its regime in return for Russia's support, underscoring that the war in Ukraine has caused "serious" suffering on its troops and their families.
Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook made the remarks, renewing Seoul's calls for Moscow and Pyongyang to end their miliary cooperation that has deepened following their "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed in June last year.
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"This war has inflicted serious suffering not only on the Ukrainian people, and Russian soldiers and their families, but also on those of North Korea," he said during a U.N. Security Council meeting on the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine.
He noted that interviews with North Korean troops, captured in Russia's front-line Kursk region, have revealed they were deceived by the North Korean leadership to believe that they were sent to Russia for training, not to fight in a war.
"Reportedly, their families remain unaware that their sons have been sent abroad to engage in another country's deadly conflict until the authorities issue a certificate of death. Pyongyang even compelled the bereaved families to sign non-disclosure agreements regarding the loss of lives," he said.
Hwang went on to say, "Pyongyang must stop sacrificing its own people to sustain the regime in exchange for military, political and economic support from Moscow."
The ambassador called attention to a recent meeting between Kim and Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang, and their reaffirmation of the shared intention to fully implement the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty.
"This implies that this illegal military cooperation will continue in violation of the Security Council resolutions," he said. "We urge Russia and North Korea to immediately halt their illegal military cooperation."
Hwang also voiced Seoul's support for ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
"The Republic of Korea sincerely hopes that the ongoing diplomatic efforts will pave the way for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace -- one that fully respects the principles and the spirit of the U.N. Charter," he said.
"In addition to the war's conclusion and the restoration of peace in Ukraine, we also take deep interest in the process and conditions of ending the war, as they will have far-reaching implications not only for the future of European security, but also for the global security landscape."
Yonhap