Anchor: Countries at the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) clashed over North Korea’s decision to deploy troops to Russia in support of its military action against Ukraine. During a council meeting Wednesday, South Korea’s UN Ambassador said the North Korean soldiers will end up as “cannon fodder,” while his North Korean counterpart argued that Pyongyang and Moscow are within their rights to cooperate on security.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: Ambassadors at the UN Security Council staged a war of words on Wednesday over the role of North Korean soldiers in Russia. 

South Korea’s UN Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook predicted disaster for the young North Korean soldiers, whose deployment represents a dramatic escalation of the war.

[Sound bite: S. Korea’s UN Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook]
“... we all know, what would happen to these ill-fated North Korean soldiers once they are deployed to the deadly battlefield. As legitimate military targets, they will end up as mere cannon fodder. While the wages they are supposed to receive from Russia will end up squarely in Kim Jong-un’s pocket.”

North Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Kim Song argued that Pyongyang and Moscow have the right to work together for their mutual security.

[Sound bite: N. Korea’s UN Ambassador Kim Song]
“If Russia’s sovereignty and security interests are exposed to and threatened by continued dangerous attempts of the United States and the West and if it is judged that we should respond to them with something, we will make a necessary decision ...”

Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood countered that Russia would not have turned to North Korea unless it were out of options.

[Sound bite: Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood]
“Should DPRK’s troops enter Ukraine in support of Russia, they will surely return in body bags. So I would advise Chairman Kim to think twice about engaging in such reckless and dangerous behavior.”

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya asked why North Korea shouldn’t help his country when Western countries are fighting alongside Ukraine. 

[Sound bite: Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya (Russian as translated by onsite translator)]
“I underscore that Russia’s interaction with North Korea in the military and other areas is in line with international law and is not a violation of it.”

The Ukrainian ambassador to the UN said the deployment of North Korean troops is bad news for the world, saying the interoperability of the Russian and North Korean forces constitutes a threat to Europe, as well as the Korean Peninsula and its neighbors.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.