新湖畔网 （随信APP) | 北韩驻联合国代表否认平壤向俄罗斯派遣军队

一名男子在首尔街头经过一份报纸，上面报道了北韩决定向俄罗斯部署数千名士兵的消息 - 版权AFP/File Anthony WALLACE

北韩的联合国代表周一表示，北韩没有派兵去俄罗斯帮助莫斯科对抗乌克兰，否认了首尔的说法是“毫无根据的谣言”。

首尔的间谍机构周五表示，平壤派遣了“大规模”部队前往帮助其盟友，声称已有1,500名特种部队在俄罗斯远东进行训练，准备很快前往乌克兰战线。

“至于所谓与俄罗斯的军事合作，我的代表团对这种毫无根据的刻板印象谣言不认为有任何评论的必要。”一位北韩代表在联合国大会期间的一个委员会会议上说道。

“首尔的说法旨在抹黑朝鲜民主主义人民共和国的形象，破坏两个主权国家之间合法、友好和合作关系，”这位代表在纽约举行的会议上说。

自二战结束后，平壤和莫斯科一直是盟友，并且自俄罗斯在2022年入侵乌克兰以来，两国关系愈发密切，首尔和华盛顿一直声称金正恩一直在向乌克兰发送武器。

北韩官方媒体尚未评论这次据称的军队部署。

俄罗斯也没有确认军队部署，但捍卫了与北韩的军事合作。

在首尔召见俄罗斯驻韩大使抗议之后，该大使“强调了俄罗斯和北韩之间的合作… 不针对韩国安全利益。”

北约和美国都没有确认这次部署，但都将其看作是乌克兰冲突的一次潜在危险升级。

“我们已经看到朝鲜已经派遣部队，并准备派遣更多士兵到乌克兰与俄罗斯并肩作战的报道，”美国驻联合国大使罗伯特·伍德告诉安理会。

“如果属实，这标志着一次危险和令人极度关切的发展，显然加深了朝鲜-俄罗斯军事关系，”伍德说。

美国及其盟友已经对朝鲜向入侵乌克兰的俄罗斯提供武器表示担忧。

– 紧急撤军 –

韩国政府周二“强烈谴责”北韩，并敦促北韩军队立即撤回。

“北韩一直向俄罗斯提供大规模军事装备，派遣军队参加俄罗斯的非法侵略战争对我国不仅构成重大安全威胁，也对国际社会构成重大威胁，”国家安全会议表示。

政府“敦促北韩军队立即撤回，并宣布如果北韩与俄罗斯当前的军事联盟继续下去，将不坐视不管。”

“针对北韩派遣军队后俄罗斯的军事合作加深，政府将实施分阶段的对策，”并补充道。

周二，韩国新闻机构韩联社还报道称，首尔正在考虑派遣一支人员团队到乌克兰监督北韩派遣的军队，引用了一位政府消息人士。

根据消息人士的说法，如果派遣团队，可能会由情报部门的军事人员组成，以分析北韩的战场战略，并参与审讯任何被俘战俘。

韩联社还报道，一个亲俄罗斯的Telegram账号发布了一张照片，显示俄罗斯和北韩的国旗在乌克兰战场上并排。

A man walks past a newspaper displayed on a street in Seoul on October 21 with coverage on North Korea's decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to Russia - Copyright AFP/File Anthony WALLACE

North Korea has not sent troops to Russia to help Moscow fight Ukraine, one of its United Nations representatives said Monday, dismissing Seoul’s claims as “groundless rumor”.

Seoul’s spy agency said Friday that Pyongyang sent a “large-scale” troop deployment to help its ally, claiming that 1,500 special forces were already training in Russia’s Far East and ready to head soon for the frontlines of the Ukraine war.

“As for the so-called military cooperation with Russia, my delegation does not feel any need for comment on such groundless stereotyped rumors,” a North Korean representative said at a committee meeting during the UN General Assembly.

Seoul’s claims were “aimed at smearing the image of the DPRK and undermining the legitimate, friendly and cooperative relations between two sovereign states,” the representative told the meeting, held late Monday in New York.

Pyongyang and Moscow have been allies since North Korea’s founding after World War II, and have drawn even closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Seoul and Washington long claiming that Kim Jong Un has been sending weapons for use in Ukraine.

North Korean state media have not commented on the purported troop deployment.

Russia has also not confirmed the troop deployment, but defended its military cooperation with the North.

After Seoul summoned Moscow’s ambassador in South Korea to complain, the envoy “stressed that cooperation between Russia and North Korea… is not directed against the interests of South Korea’s security.”

Neither NATO nor the United States have confirmed the deployment, but both have cast it as a potentially dangerous escalation in the long-running Ukraine conflict.

“We have seen reports the DPRK has sent forces and is preparing to send additional soldiers to Ukraine to fight alongside Russia,” Robert Wood, US ambassador to the United Nations, told the Security Council.

“If true, this marks a dangerous and highly concerning development and an obvious deepening of the DPRK-Russia military relationship,” Wood said.

The United States and its allies have already voiced concern about North Korea providing weapons to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

– Urge immediate withdrawal –

The South Korean government “strongly condemned” North Korea on Tuesday, urging North Korean troops to be immediately withdrawn.

“North Korea, which has been providing large-scale military weapons to Russia, sending troops to Russia’s illegal war of aggression in Ukraine is a significant security threat not only to our country but also to the international community,” said the National Security Council.

The government “urged the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops and declared that if the current military alliance between North Korea and Russia continues, it will not stand idly by.”

“In response to the advancement of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea following the deployment of North Korean combat troops, the government will implement phased countermeasures,” it added.

On Tuesday also, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that Seoul is considering sending a team of personnel to Ukraine to monitor North Korean troops being deployed, citing a government source.

According to the source, if deployed the team will likely consist of military personnel from intelligence divisions to analyze North Korean battlefield strategies and participate in interrogating any captured prisoners of war.

Yonhap also reported that a pro-Russia Telegram account posted a photo showing the Russian and North Korean flags side by side on a Ukrainian battlefield.