South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, right, shakes hands with United States Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. and its allies are “alarmed” by North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats as well as its increasing military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday, but couldn’t confirm Ukrainian claims that North Korean soldiers were sent to fight for Moscow.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke with reporters following discussions with South Korean and Japanese counterparts on reinvigorating an international pressure campaign against North Korea, which faltered in recent years amid a deepening divide at the U.N. Security Council.

Earlier on Wednesday, Washington, Seoul and Tokyo announced plans with eight Western governments to launch a new multinational team to monitor the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea.

Russia in March vetoed a U.N. resolution in a move that effectively abolished monitoring by U.N. experts of Security Council sanctions against North Korea. It prompted Western accusations that Moscow was acting to shield its arms purchases from Pyongyang to fuel its war in Ukraine.

Campbell said there are signs that North Korea was increasing its support of materials, including artillery and missiles, for Russia’s war on Ukraine, which he said was “creating further instability in Europe.” He said the U.S. was still evaluating reports that North Korea was also sending personnel.

“We are concerned by them and ... we agreed that we will continue to monitor the situation closely,” Campbell said about the claims.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that North Korea is sending military personnel to help Russia’s war effort, without providing details. Ukrainian media reported earlier this month that six North Koreans were among those killed after a Ukrainian missile strike in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region on Oct. 3.

North Korea has also been making increasingly provocative threats against rival South Korea, including accusing the South of infiltrating drones to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang and threatening to attack if it happens again.

North Korea on Tuesday blew up the northern sections of unused road and rail routes that once linked it with South Korea, in a choreographed demolition demonstrating its growing anger with South Korea’s conservative government.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have spiked since 2022, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used Russia’s war on Ukraine as a window to dial up his weapons testing activities and threats. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have strengthened their combined military exercises in response and took steps to sharpen their nuclear deterrence strategies built around strategic U.S. assets.

Following his talks with Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun said that the countries condemn the North’s “intentional moves to create tensions.”

“We have agreed to maintain a solid South Korea-U.S. combined posture to respond firmly to North Korean provocations and strengthen security cooperation through close coordination between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan,” Kim said.

The diplomats issued a joint statement condemning North Korea over its nuclear and missile developments, deepening military cooperation with Russia and various illicit activities to fund its weapons program and highlighted United States’ “ironclad” commitment to defend its allies.

The statement also reflected growing regional tensions with China.

The diplomats expressed their opposition to “any unilateral attempts to change the status quo" in Indo-Pacific waters and “unlawful maritime claims" in the South China Sea. They also criticized China’s recent drills around Taiwan and stressed that “no further actions should be taken that could undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2024