WNAM MNITORING: The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) leading democracies strongly condemned arms transactions between North Korea and Russia on Saturday, as they marked the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The G7 leaders issued a joint statement, stressing that the transactions between Pyongyang and Moscow are in breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). The G7 countries are the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan.
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s exports and Russia’s procurement of North Korea’s ballistic missiles in direct violation of relevant UNSCRs and call upon them to immediately cease such activities,” they said in the statement.
The U.S. government has revealed that the North provided Russia with several dozen ballistic missiles, some of which were fired at Ukrainian targets on Dec. 30, 2023, Jan. 2 and Jan. 6.
Moreover, the State Department revealed Friday that the North has shipped over 10,000 containers of munitions or munition-related materials to Russia since September 2023.
In the statement, the G7 leaders also expressed their concern about transfers to Russia from businesses in China of dual-use materials and components for weapons and equipment for military production.
They also welcomed the expansion of the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine to include South Korea, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Launched in January last year, the platform coordinates the support for the immediate financing needs of Ukraine and future economic recovery and reconstruction needs.
Highlighting their steadfast support for Ukraine, the G7 leaders said, “As Ukraine enters the third year of this relentless war, its government and its people can count on the G7’s support for as long as it takes.” (Yonhap)
