North Korea defended Russia’s large-scale airstrikes on Ukraine, characterizing them as a legitimate exercise of self-defense.
Kim Song, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations (UN), released a statement through the Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, asserting that the responsibility for all events lies squarely with those who created the preconditions.
Ambassador Kim argued that Russia’s airstrikes were merely a response to Ukraine’s attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence. He stated that acts of terror targeting a nation’s absolute sovereignty cannot be justified under any circumstances, and righteous retaliation cannot be demonized by any argument.
He further criticized the emergency UN Security Council meeting, convened at Ukraine’s request to discuss the airstrikes, claiming it does not represent international support for the victim. Instead, he described it as an extension of the habitual behavior of Western agitators who unjustly criticize the legitimate exercise of a sovereign state’s right to self-defense.
Ambassador Kim attributed the situation in Ukraine to the confrontational policies of the U.S. and Western countries, which he claims systematically advance North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) eastward expansion, infringing upon Russia’s rational and legitimate security interests. He shifted the blame for the war onto the U.S. and Western nations.
He emphasized that the position in fully supporting the Russian Federation’s just cause to defend state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security interests remains consistent and unwavering.
The emergency Security Council meeting was scheduled for Monday following Ukraine’s request, with support from France, Latvia, Denmark, Greece, Liberia, and the United Kingdom. On January 9, Russia launched a large-scale airstrike using hypersonic ballistic missiles against Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western city of Lviv.