OSCE plans to discuss participation of North Korean soldiers in Russia’s war against Ukraine
On 6 November, the OSCE Permanent Council and the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation will hold a special meeting to discuss Russia’s military co-operation with North Korea and its implications for the war against Ukraine. This was reported by the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the International Organisations in Vienna.
‘In response to a request from the Ukrainian delegation, the Maltese OSCE Chairmanship and the Danish Chairmanship of the Forum for Security Co-operation are convening a joint meeting to discuss Russia’s military co-operation with North Korea and its implications for the ongoing aggression against Ukraine. Such a joint meeting of the two OSCE permanent decision-making bodies demonstrates the serious concern of the participating States about the escalation of the situation by Russia, which poses an unprecedented challenge to European security,’ the Ukrainian mission said.
The meeting, which will begin at 15:00 local time at the OSCE headquarters in the Hofburg Conference Centre, will be held without the participation of the press.
The Forum for Security Co-operation and the Permanent Council are the permanent decision-making bodies of the OSCE, which meet weekly in Vienna with the participation of delegations from all member states. Since 2014, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been one of the main items on the agenda of these bodies.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 11,000 North Korean troops are stationed in the Kursk region of Russia, and their number continues to grow, but there is no reaction from international partners.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed that the Ukrainian military had engaged in combat for the first time with North Korean units that Pyongyang had sent to support Russia.
