STORY: :: North Korea's foreign minister says they will back Russia until it achieves 'victory' in Ukraine
:: Moscow, Russia
:: November 1, 2024
:: Choe Sun Hui, North Korean foreign minister
"At the very beginning of the special military operation, the esteemed comrade President of the State Affairs Kim Jong Un gave an order for us to unswervingly and powerfully support and assist the Russian army and the Russian people in their sacred war, without looking back."
"We have no doubt that under the wise leadership of the esteemed president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the Russian army and people will certainly achieve a great victory in their sacred struggle to protect the sovereign rights and security interests of their state. And we once again assure that until the day of victory we will always firmly stand next to our Russian comrades."
"Our traditional, historically friendly relations, which have traveled the tested path of history, today ... are rising to a new level of relations of invincible military comradeship," she told Lavrov, praising the role played in this by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Greeting her, Lavrov spoke of the "very close ties" between the two countries' militaries and said this enabled them to solve important security tasks together.
Neither referred to statements by the United States, NATO, South Korea and Ukraine this week that North Korea has sent some 10,000 troops to Russia.
Choe said the two countries needed to keep deepening their ties under a treaty signed by their leaders in June, which includes a mutual defense clause.
Moscow, which sent its army into Ukraine in February 2022, has neither denied nor directly confirmed the presence of North Korean troops on Russian soil.
Putin has said it is for Russia to decide how to implement the treaty with Kim.
