Russia urges South Korea to avoid provocations amid drone dispute with North

North Korea said the South had sent drones over Pyongyang three times this month, but Seoul denied the claim.

Russia said South Korea should refrain from “further provocations” in response to North Korea’s accusation that Seoul had sent unmanned drones across the border. The warning came as Moscow geared up to ratify a treaty on a strategic partnership with Pyongyang.

North Korea said on Friday that the South had sent unmanned drones over Pyongyang three times this month. South Korea denied the claim.

“The South Korean authorities should take Pyongyang’s warnings very seriously and cease further escalation on the peninsula through their reckless and provocative campaign, which exacerbates tension and could lead to actual armed confrontations,” Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said in a statement Monday.

North Korea claimed that South Korean drones carrying anti-regime propaganda leaflets were detected in the night skies over Pyongyang three times this month, and threatened to respond with force if such flights occurred again.

In response, South Korea’s defense ministry warned that the North would face “the end of its regime” if it caused any harm to South Korean people, while its Joint Chiefs of Staff said it could not confirm whether the North’s drone claims were true.

The Russian statement came after media reports that Putin submitted a bill to the State Duma to ratify a treaty on a strategic partnership with North Korea.

Putin submitted the bill to the lower house of parliament on Monday to ratify the treaty on a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was sealed in June, Russia's state-run Sputnik news agency reported.

The treaty was signed by Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 19 in Pyongyang after their summit talks during the Russian President’s state visit.

The new partnership includes a mutual defense assistance clause that would apply in the case of “aggression” against one of the signatories.

2024-06-19T120819Z_1029865475_RC2AE8A9I464_RTRMADP_3_NORTHKOREA-RUSSIA.JPG
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo during a signing ceremony following bilateral talks in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024. (Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna/Kremlin via Reuters)

The agreement is subject to ratification and enters into force on the date of exchange of instruments of ratification.

Russia and North Korea have deepened military cooperation as Moscow seeks arms and other support in its war against Ukraine. In recent weeks, claims of a more direct North Korean presence in Ukraine have increased.

Citing Ukraine’s military intelligence, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Russia plans to involve North Korea directly in the full-scale war against Ukraine in coming months.

Zelensky’s statement came after media reports that several North Korean officers had been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in Russian-occupied territory near the city of Donetsk on Oct. 3.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun told lawmakers in early October that North Korea was likely planning to send troops to Ukraine to fight alongside Russia.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Oct. 10, however, dismissed these reports as “fake news.”

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Security meeting in North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a meeting with top security officials on Monday to discuss what Pyongyang claimed was South Korea’s infiltration of drones and military action plans to respond to it, state media reported.

At the meeting, Kim received reports about North Korea's plan to deal with the "enemy's serious provocation," including the military's counteraction plan and the situation related to Pyongyang's intelligence operations, the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, reported on Tuesday.

At the meeting, Kim put in place a plan to carry out "immediate military action" and suggested "important tasks to be fulfilled in the operation of the war deterrent and the exercise of the right to self-defense for safeguarding the national sovereignty," KCNA added.

The North said on Sunday its army units near the border with South Korea had been ordered to be ready to launch strikes on the South.

The South’s military said on Monday that North Korea appeared to be preparing to carry out explosions at roads connected to South Korea as early as that day.

Pyongyang announced last Wednesday it would cut off roads and railways to South Korea and bolster border defenses, saying South Korean military exercises and U.S. "strategic nuclear assets" prompted the decision.

Edited by Mike Firn.