The United States and South Korea pledged to continue their close cooperation in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
White House announced continuation of aid to Ukraine
This was discussed during a telephone conversation between Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Advisor, and his South Korean counterpart, Chung Ho Jin.
The advisers discussed, in particular, issues related to North Korea, including its increased military cooperation with Russia and "provocative actions" along the demilitarised zone.
Sullivan and Chan condemned North Korea's transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia and Moscow's use of these missiles against Ukraine. They noted that the transfer and use of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, violates numerous UN Security Council resolutions, undermines the global non-proliferation regime, and has significant security implications for Europe, the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.
Against the backdrop of growing cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, both officials pledged to continue close cooperation in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
They also pledged to maintain close cooperation on common security challenges to promote peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.
What preceded it
In November 2023, North Korea began re-establishing security posts and deploying heavy firearms along its border with South Korea after the effective cancellation of the 2018 inter-Korean de-escalation agreement.
On 4 January, the White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said that the Russian Federation had used ballistic missiles purchased from North Korea to attack Ukraine.
On 5 January, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat did not confirm the information that Russia had used ballistic missiles handed over to it by the DPRK.
On 9 January, 47 foreign ministers issued a joint statement condemning North Korea's delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia. The United States intends to raise this issue at a meeting of the UN Security Council on 10 January, demanding that Russia be held accountable for violating its international obligations.
