North Korean minister pledges full support to Russia in Ukraine war

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui pledged to assist Russia in its war against Ukraine "right up to the day of victory" during talks with her counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Friday.
"Once again, we promise that we will always stand firmly by the side of our Russian comrades right up to the day of victory," Choe said at the meeting according to the Russian translation of her remarks.
Lavrov referred to close cooperation between the two countries' militaries and security services amid reports of the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops in Russia close to the border with Ukraine.
Choe accused the United States and Ukraine's other Western allies of conducting a long-term war against Russia by supplying arms.
Pyongyang did not doubt "that the Russian army and people under the wise leadership of valued President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin will without doubt secure a great victory in their absolute struggle to defend the sovereign rights and interests of state security," she said.
On Thursday, the White House said that up to 8,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia's Kursk region on the border with Ukraine. The region was the target of a surprise incursion of Ukrainian troops earlier this year.
Washington assumes the North Korean forces will soon be deployed for combat and predicts that more could follow.
Putin has not denied their presence and has noted that Ukraine is also making use of personnel from NATO member countries.
North Korea has for months been delivering missiles and shells to Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.