North Korea declares to stand side by side with Russia to victory

North Korea has said it has provided major support to the Russian military since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine and pledged to stand by it until victory.

The Ukrainian Air Force announced on November 1 that its air defense forces had destroyed 31 of the 48 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that Russia launched into Ukrainian territory overnight. Another 14 were lost, and Ukraine also intercepted a third of the cruise missiles launched.

Missile remains after Russia's attack in Odessa, southern Ukraine on November 1

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had shot down 83 Ukrainian drones overnight. One crashed into an oil facility in Svetlograd in Starvropol province but caused no casualties, said governor Vladimir Vladimirov. Video from the Telegram channel Baza showed at least one of several fuel tanks quickly engulfed in flames.

A day earlier, several Russian fuel and energy facilities in the Bashkortostan region, 1,500 km from the border, were attacked by UAVs. Local officials said the incident caused only minor damage and no one was injured, according to The Kyiv Independent . Bashkortostan is home to plants of Bashneft, a major oil company of Russia's Rosneft group.

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North Korea transfers 1,000 missiles, 10 million artillery shells to Russia?

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said on October 31 that the DPRK has transferred more than 1,000 missiles to Russia, in addition to nearly 10 million artillery shells. According to Yonhap, the information was announced at a press conference in Washington DC, after a 2+2 meeting between the leaders of the Foreign and Defense Ministries of the two countries, the United States and South Korea.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there are currently about 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, and the latest information shows that up to 8,000 of them have been deployed to Kursk province (Russia). "We have not seen these soldiers deployed to fight against Ukrainian forces but we expect that to happen in the coming days," Mr. Blinken said.

The US secretary of state also revealed that Russia is training North Korean soldiers in the use of artillery, drones and basic infantry operations such as clearing trenches, suggesting that Moscow fully intends to mobilize these soldiers for frontline combat.

"If these troops were to engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would become legitimate military targets," Mr. Blinken warned.

Also at the press conference, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was consulting closely with allies and partners about the above developments as well as the US response. On the other hand, Mr. Austin announced that the US would announce a new military aid package for Ukraine in the next few days.

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Ukraine calls on the West to lift restrictions

At a press conference in Montreal (Canada) on the same day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Western countries to lift restrictions on the use of long-range missiles against Russia, according to AFP. The diplomat said that the deployment of North Korean troops was a real escalation and Ukraine needed to react strongly.

"We need a strong decision by our allies to lift all restrictions on the use of long-range missiles on Russian territory. It is our right to self-defense and we are talking about military targets on Russian territory," Sybiha said.

At the same press conference, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Eide supported Ukraine's call and suggested Canada and other European countries follow suit.

North Korea has denied sending troops to Russia but said last week that if it did, it would not violate international law.

Previously, regarding the information about North Korean soldiers in Russia, President Vladimir Putin said the two countries have a mutual defense cooperation agreement and how to implement it is the right of both sides. The Kremlin said on November 1 that it had nothing more to say on the above issue, according to Reuters.

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North Korea supports Russia until victory day

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui arrived in Moscow and held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. During the meeting, Choe noted that leader Kim Jong-un had affirmed support for the Russian military and people as soon as Moscow's operation in Ukraine began.

Ms. Choe affirmed that Pyongyang is confident that the Russian army under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin will win and North Korea "reaffirmed its commitment to always stand by Russia until victory" falls to Russia, according to TASS.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomes North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui in Moscow on November 1

For his part, Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Russia-North Korea relations have reached their highest level in the past few years thanks to the efforts of the two countries' leaders. Dialogue between the two countries has been pushed to a new level after the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement at the Pyongyang summit in June, according to Mr. Lavrov.

The Russian Foreign Minister said the agreements set out in the treaty are being implemented in the interests of the peoples of the two countries, for stability on the Korean peninsula, Northeast Asia and the Eurasian continent.

On the same day, commenting on the information that North Korean soldiers were in Russia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that Russia and North Korea are two sovereign countries, with the right to decide how to develop bilateral relations as they wish. "China does not know the specific situation in that bilateral exchange and cooperation," Mr. Lin said.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chien-su-ukraine-ngay-982-trieu-tien-tuyen-bo-sat-canh-cung-nga-den-chien-thang-185241101154310964.htm