Russia fired more N. Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine: White House

National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks during the daily press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House, Jan. 4, in Washington, D.C. North Korea has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles and missile launchers that were used in recent attacks on Ukraine, the White House said Thursday. "This is a significant and concerning escalation," Kirby said at the briefing. AFP-Yonhap

Russia recently fired additional North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine following earlier such launches, a White House official said Tuesday, reiterating the arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang violate multiple U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, disclosed Russia's additional missile strikes on the war-torn country on Saturday, while noting its earlier launches of North Korean missiles on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2.

"Since then, Russian forces again launched multiple North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine," Kirby told a press briefing. "We are still assessing the impacts of these strikes, but we can confirm that at least one of them landed in Kharkiv."

Last Thursday, Kirby announced that the North recently provided Russia with several dozen ballistic missiles, as well as ballistic missile launchers.

Security advisers of S. Korea, US decry N. Korea's missile transfer to Russia for use in Ukraine 2024-01-10 11:57  |  Defense

Kirby said that Washington will discuss the arms transfers between the North and Russia at the UNSC on Wednesday. The transfer of any weapons and related materials from the North is banned under UNSC resolutions that Russia itself voted for.

"Russia's transfer of ballistic missiles from the DPRK directly violates multiple UNSC resolutions," he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Tomorrow, we will raise these arms deals at the UNSC alongside our allies and partners and demand that Russia be held accountable for yet again violating international obligations that it signed up to," he added.

Meanwhile, top diplomats from nearly 50 countries, including South Korea, the United States and Japan, issued a joint statement condemning in the "strongest terms" the arms transfers between the North and Russia.

"The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia's war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime," the statement read.

"We are deeply concerned about the security implications that this cooperation has in Europe, on the Korean Peninsula, across the Indo-Pacific region, and around the world," it added.

In October, the White House revealed that the North had delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for use in Ukraine.

The transaction came amid persistent speculation that the Sept. 13 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Russian spaceport might have led to an arms deal. (Yonhap)