THE DPRK'S POSITION ON RUSSIA’S SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The DPRK has become one of the few countries in the world to officially support Russia's special military operaton in Ukraine. In the vote on UN General Assembly Resoluton ES‑11/1, Aggression against Ukraine, adopted on March 2, 2022, the DPRK was one of fve countries (including Russia) that voted against condemning Moscow's acton. Pyongyang immediately strongly supported Russia and emphasized its full understanding of the reasons for taking such a step. The statement of the Ministry of Foreign Afairs of the Republic on February 26, 2022, which dealt with the operaton itself, stressed «US actons that 'ignore' Russia's security interests are the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis». It pointed out, «The root cause of the Ukrainian crisis also lies in the willfulness and arbitrariness of the United States, which has clung exclusively to unilateral sanctons and pressure, pursuing only global hegemony and military superiority, ignoring Russia's legitmate demand for its security». This positon was further elaborated in a series of Foreign Ministry documents, including March 14, 2022, about which Western media reported with surprise that North Korea contnued to defend Russian positons in Moscow's war against Ukraine, accusing the US of further exacerbatng the crisis by providing Kiev with «large‑scale military aid». Given the current realites of the DPRK politcal system, it is obvious that the populaton of the country is also informed accordingly, and the reacton of public opinion in the country regarding the current crisis around Ukraine is aimed at supportng the Russian line on this issue.