US strongly condemns North Korea's transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his South Korean counterpart Chang Ho-jin on Tuesday about North Korea’s increasing military cooperation with Russia.

"The two officials condemned in the strongest possible terms the DPRK’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia and Russia’s use of these missiles against Ukraine," the White House said in a statement, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

In the phone call, “they noted that the transfer and use of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, violates multiple 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,”, it added.

Sullivan and Chang committed to maintaining close cooperation in support of Ukraine and close collaboration on shared security challenges to bolster peace and security across the Indo-Pacific region and around the globe.

Previously, the US said that Russia used ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea in a series of attacks on Ukraine during the New Year holiday and is working on brokering another deal with Iran for additional arms.

North Korea has been under a UN arms embargo since it first tested a nuclear bomb in 2006.

Pyongyang's recent transfer of arms is slated to be addressed by the UN Security Council on Jan. 10.