By Harsha Josephine Antony | On Wed August 17, 2022, | 8.10 pm IST |
Photo credit: Associated Press
The commander of Russian proxy forces in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region has requested cooperation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un amid reports that the North is considering sending workers to restore Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin expressed hope in remarks sent Monday that his Moscow-backed republic and North Korea could achieve “equally beneficial bilateral cooperation agreeing with the interests” of their people. Following North Korea’s relaxation of pandemic border controls, Sin stated that bilateral cooperation in trade and the “field of labour migration” would have “great potential,” according to the ministry. Similarly, North Korea is said to be holding talks with Luhansk.
The commander of Russian proxy forces in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region has appealed to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for cooperation amid reports that the North is considering sending labourers to restore Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. North Korea became one of the few countries in the world last month to recognise the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, another Russian-backed separatist region in eastern Ukraine, prompting Kiev to cut diplomatic ties with Pyongyang.
There are indications that North Korea is reconsidering plans to send workers to those regions for restoration projects, which could help its economy but would violate U.N. Security Council sanctions for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes. Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin expressed hope in comments sent Monday that his Moscow-backed republic and North Korea could achieve “equally beneficial bilateral cooperation agreeing with the interests” of their people, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
Meet with the North Korean Ambassador
According to Donetsk’s foreign ministry, its ambassador to Russia, Olga Makeeva, met with North Korea’s ambassador to Russia, Sin Hong Chol, on July 29 in Moscow to discuss economic cooperation. Following North Korea’s relaxation of pandemic border controls, Sin stated there would be “great potential” for bilateral cooperation in trade and the “field of labour migration,” according to the ministry. North Korea is said to be holding similar talks with Luhansk.
In response to a North Korean long-range missile test, the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions requiring member states to repatriate all North Korean workers from their territories within 24 months. Last month, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price criticised Russian suggestions that North Korean workers be hired for restoration projects in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, calling such arrangements an “affront to Ukraine’s sovereignty.” Price was referring to the remarks made by Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora to the Tass news agency, who stated that North Korean construction workers could provide “very serious help” in rebuilding the Donbas region.
Pushilin’s message to Kim coincided with the 15th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II. He congratulated Kim on the anniversary and insisted that the “people of the Donbas region, too, are fighting to regain their freedom and justice of history today, just as the Korean people did 77 years ago,” according to KCNA. The report did not state whether Kim responded by sending a message to Pushilin. The Donbas region, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk, is a primarily Russian-speaking region of steel factories, mines, and other industries in Ukraine’s east. Separatists have controlled parts of both provinces since 2014, but Russian President Vladimir Putin only recognised their independence in February, just before Russia invaded Ukraine. Syria is the only other country that has acknowledged its independence.
North Korea blamed the U.S. for the Ukrainian crisis
North Korea has repeatedly blamed the U.S. for the Ukrainian crisis, claiming that the West’s “hegemonic policy” justified Russian military actions in Ukraine to protect itself. Kim has also been taking advantage of a schism in the United Nations Security Council caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to speed up his weapons development as he seeks to establish the North as nuclear power and negotiate the removal of crippling U.S.-led sanctions from a position of strength. North Korea has conducted over 30 missile tests in 2022 alone, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile flight test in nearly five years. In addition, there are indications that the North is restoring tunnels at a nuclear testing site that was last active in 2017 in preparation for the resumption of nuclear explosive tests.
