US and allies issue special statement on Russia's use of DPRK missiles against Ukraine

The United States, EU countries, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, and other countries have adopted a special statement on Russia's use of ballistic missiles from North Korea against Ukraine.

"We are deeply concerned about the security implications of such cooperation for Europe, the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific region, and the entire world," the joint statement said, as quoted by Reuters.

The statement said that Russia used North Korean missiles to strike Ukraine on December 30 and January 2.

According to AFP, the statement was signed by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and foreign ministers of 47 countries, including South Korea, Japan and Israel.

In addition, the White House reported that the Russian army also fired missiles from the DPRK at Ukraine during the January 6 strikes. The US administration intends to hold Moscow accountable for such actions during a meeting of the UN Security Council, Reuters reports.

The agency recalls that after 2006, when the DPRK tested nuclear weapons, the country has been under sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council, including with the support of Russia. These sanctions explicitly prohibit arms trade with North Korea.

"We are closely monitoring what exactly Russia is providing to the DPRK in exchange for such arms exports," the statement said.

The signatory states also called on Russia and North Korea to "immediately cease all activities that violate UN Security Council resolutions.

On January 4, the White House said that North Korea had recently supplied Russia with several ballistic missiles along with launchers and that Russian troops had already fired them at Ukraine.