The foreign ministers of South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the Group of Seven nations have reportedly expressed “grave concerns” over the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia and their possible use in the war against Ukraine. 

According to Reuters, the top diplomats from the ten nations conveyed their stance in a joint statement released Tuesday.

The foreign ministers said North Korea’s direct support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, besides showing Russia’s desperate efforts to compensate for its losses, would mark a “dangerous expansion of the conflict.” 

The top diplomats also condemned in the “strongest possible terms” the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including what they called Russia’s unlawful procurement of North Korean ballistic missiles. 

Expressing “deep concern” about the potential for any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile technology from Russia to North Korea, the foreign ministers vowed to work with their international partners to deliver a coordinated response.