Seoul, South Korea — The head of a Russian proxy force in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine sent a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warning him that signs North Korea is considering sending workers for remediation projects in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
Last month, North Korea became one of the few countries in the world to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, separate Russian-backed separatist regions to the east of Ukraineand Kyiv. He began to cut off diplomacy. Relations with Pyongyang.
There are indications that North Korea is considering plans to send workers for restoration projects in these areas.
Donetsk, in comments sent Monday. Separatist leader Denis Pushirin has expressed hope that his Moscow-backed republic and North Korea can achieve "equally beneficial bilateral cooperation in the interests of their own peoples". , North Korea's official Chosun Central News agency said Wednesday.
READ MORE: Where are Donetsk and Luhansk and what does Putin want there?
Donetsk's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Ambassador to Russia Olga Makeeva met with North Korean Ambassador to Russia Shin Hong Chol in Moscow on July 29 to discuss economic cooperation. The ministry said Shin later said there was "great potential" for bilateral cooperation in trade and "labor migration" after North Korea eased border controls over the pandemic.
North Korea is reportedly in similar talks with Luhansik.
In 2017, Russia supported sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council in response to North Korea's long-range missile tests. It required Member States to repatriate all North Korean workers from their territories within 24 months.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price last month criticized Russia's proposal that North Korean workers could be hired for remediation projects in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, saying such an arrangement would be " An affront to Ukraine's sovereignty."
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 17, 2022 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observing the test launch of a new tactical guided weapon in North Korea.
STR/KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
was TASS news agency reported that North Korean construction workers could provide "very serious assistance" to the reconstruction of the Donbass region.
Pushirin's message to Kim was written to coincide with his August 15th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II. was. Kim congratulated Kim on his anniversary, claiming that "the people of the Donbass region are fighting today just like the people of South Korea 77 years ago to restore freedom and historical justice." did.
READ MORE: How North Korea Built Nuclear Weapons From Soviet Ashes
Luhansk and Donetsk together make up the Donbass region, a predominantly Russian-speaking area of steel mills, mines and other industries in eastern Ukraine. Separatists have controlled parts of both states since his 2014, but Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized their independence shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in his February. . Syria is the only other country that has recognized their independence.
North Korea has repeatedly accused the United States of the crisis in Ukraine, and the West's "hegemonic policy" justified Russian military action in Ukraine to defend itself. He said he did.
Kim Jong-un has also tried to consolidate North Korea as a nuclear power and to negotiate the withdrawal of the crippled U.S., a deepened UN Security Council division over Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Using it to accelerate his weapons development - he led the sanctions from a position of strength.
North Korea has launched more than 30 of her missiles in 2022 alone. This includes the first intercontinental ballistic missile flight test in nearly five years. There are also indications that North Korea is restoring tunnels at its last active nuclear test site in 2017, in preparation for potentially resuming nuclear explosion tests.
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