Russia, North Korea Plan New World Order

PHOTO CAPTION: FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend a meeting in Beijing, China September 3, 2025. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS /File Photo

SEOUL, Aug. 18 — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his North Korean counterpart that Moscow and Pyongyang were working to establish a “new and righteous world order,” praising North Korea’s military support for Russia after its troops helped drive Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region last year.

In a message to North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s pledge to expand cooperation across all areas and contribute to regional and international security, North Korea’s KCNA state news agency reported Tuesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to Russia in late 2024 to help Moscow repel a major Ukrainian incursion into Kursk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in the region in May 2025 and publicly thanked North Korea for its assistance.

North Korea and Russia are continuing to establish a “new and righteous world order on the basis of genuine equality and national interests,” KCNA quoted Lavrov as saying.

“The participation of service personnel of the Korean People’s Army in the operations to drive the Ukrainian Nazi clique and foreign mercenaries out of Kursk is a clear proof of the tradition of the militant friendship forged by the heroic preceding generations,” Lavrov said.

Russia has repeatedly sought to portray Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government as dominated by “Nazis” persecuting Russian speakers since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Zelenskiy, who is Jewish, and his Western allies reject that characterization as absurd.

South Korea and Western governments have expressed concern that North Korea may be receiving help from Moscow with weapons development in exchange for its military support in Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Zelenskiy said as many as 50,000 North Korean troops could be sent to Russia in a new deployment aimed at increasing military pressure on Ukraine.

Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar rounds, ballistic missiles, long-range artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, according to Ukrainian and independent assessments.

(Source: Reuters)