Daily Times

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday that a security pact signed by Russia and North Korea was destabilising the region, adding that North Korea was giving weapons to Russia in “flagrant violation” of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Wong was speaking to reporters in the city of Paju after a visit to the nearby Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, which remain technically at war. “We see Russia behaving in ways which are not conducive to peace but are escalatory,” she said, referring to a security pact signed between the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June. Under the pact, North Korea and Russia agreed to provide immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression. Washington and its allies are also alarmed by the deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, and have accused both nations of breaching international laws by trading in weapons for Russia to use against Ukraine.