In an ominous warning on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: The North Korean army Russia’s involvement in the war against Ukraine poses a threat beyond the immediate conflict with kyiv, and could mean Moscow is helping Pyongyang with its nuclear development.

“The fact is that the relationship between Russia and North Korea is a two-way street,” Blinken said in a speech alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha from NATO headquarters in Brussels. “North Korea is aiding Russia and its aggression against Ukraine.

“At the same time, Russia’s support for North Korea, potentially including support for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, also poses a threat to civility and security on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. he added.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, November 13, 2024. (Nicolas Tucat, pool photo via AP)

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Blinken’s comments coincided with South Korean intelligence’s announcement on Wednesday that North Korean troops had begun combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk – just weeks after the US intervention. warned that some 8,000 North Korean troops had been moved to the region where Ukraine launched offensive operations in August.

Blinken called the development “very significant and very negative” because it “increases the threat to security and stability in Europe, but also in the Asia-Pacific region.”

The secretary maintained that North Korea had directly combat operations against Ukraine indicates that adversarial countries such as Russia, North Korea and Iran are increasingly involved in malicious activities around the world.

“I think we are seeing more and more the indivisibility and the security between the Euro-Atlantic theater, the Indo-Pacific theaters, the Asian-Pacific theaters and even the Middle East, with the role that Iran plays,” he said. Blinken said, pointing to the United States and its NATO allies. are “very focused on that”.

Ukraine’s foreign minister echoed Blinken’s warnings and asserted that “the future of transatlantic and global security is decided in Ukraine.”

Sybiha highlighted the latest Russian strike on kyiv overnight on Tuesday, in which a combination of drones and missiles targeted the capital for the first time since August. Although civilians were forced to seek shelter in the underground train stations, no casualties were reported.

In this image taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday, November 1, 2024, a Russian soldier attends combat training for assault units at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Press service of the Russian Defense Ministry via AP)

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“Russia is using Iranian drones…and North Korean troops to attack Ukraine. In return, it is providing assistance to these regions,” Sybiha said. “This is how this war is undermining security in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. It’s all connected.

“If you want to ensure long-term peace and stability in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, we must force Russia to end its aggression,” he added.

Blinken’s tenure as secretary of state – when he weathered one of the most tense geopolitical periods between the West and its main adversaries since World War II – is coming to an end as the new Trump administration is set to take the reins in January.

Uncertainty has increased over how President-elect Donald Trump He will manage these complex security situations, particularly whether Trump will continue his military aid to Ukraine, and Blinken said the Biden administration would use the remaining time to boost defensive aid to kyiv.

In this photograph of water distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. (KRISTINA KORMILITSYNA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

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Blinken said the Biden administration “will use every day to continue to do what we’ve been doing for the last four years, which is strengthening this alliance.”

The secretary of state further pledged to “continue to strengthen” aid to Ukraine to ensure it can effectively counter Russian advances over the next year or to position itself to effectively negotiate peace with Moscow.