The top diplomats from South Korea and Britain have strongly condemned North Korea’s unlawful arms transfers and the reported deployment of its troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

According to Seoul’s foreign ministry on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his British counterpart, David Lammy, issued the condemnation in a joint statement on North Korea-Russia cooperation after their strategic dialogue in Seoul on Monday.

In the joint statement, issued separately from their statement on the strategic dialogue, the top diplomats condemned “in the strongest terms” the North’s continued unlawful arms transfers and the reported deployment of its troops to Russia to support what they called “Russia’s unlawful war of aggression in Ukraine.” 

The foreign ministers said such cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang not only violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions, but also prolongs the suffering of the Ukrainian people, threatens global security, and “demonstrates the desperation” of North Korea and Russia. 

The statement said South Korea and Britain are closely monitoring what Russia provides to North Korea in return for arms and military personnel, saying Russia may provide supplies and technology in support of Pyongyang’s military objectives. 

The foreign ministers also expressed deep concerns about the possibility of any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile technology to Pyongyang, saying this would jeopardize international nonproliferation efforts and threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and around the world.