Russian use of NK missiles gives Pyongyang insights, can encourage its arms exports: Seoul envoy

Ambassador to the U.N. Hwang Joon-kook speaks during a U.N. Security Council session at U.N. headquarters in New York in this photo captured from the U.N. Web TV, Jan. 10. Yonhap

Russia's recent launches of North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine give Pyongyang military insights and could encourage it to export weapons to other countries, Seoul's top envoy at the U.N. warned Wednesday.

Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook made the remarks during a U.N. Security Council (UNSC) session on the maintenance of peace in Ukraine, where Seoul and other council members condemned the arms transfers between the North and Russia as a violation of multiple UNSC resolutions.

The White House has revealed that Pyongyang had provided Moscow with several dozen ballistic missiles, some of which were used to strike Ukrainian targets on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and Saturday.

"As these launches provide valuable technical and military insights to the DPRK, it can be further encouraged to export ballistic missiles to other countries and rake in new revenue to further finance its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programs," he said. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Hwang accused the North of having used Ukraine as a "test site of its nuclear capable missiles in wanton disregard of Ukraine's territorial integrity and safety of the Ukrainian people" as he cited experts' assessment that the North Korean missiles at issue are KN-23 missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

"For the ROK, this comes as a clear and present demonstration of the existential threat," Hwang said, referring to his country by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

"One of the missiles flew 460 kilometers, exactly the same distance between Wonsan, a typical DPRK missile launch site, and Busan, the largest port city of the ROK. From the ROK standpoint, it amounts to a simulated attack," he added.

Hwang called on all UNSC members to make an "extraordinary" effort to curb the North's nuclear programs and provocations.

A firefighter extinguishes remains of an unidentified missile, which Ukrainian authorities claimed to be made in North Korea, at a site of a Russian strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Jan. 2. Reuters-Yonhap

"The Security Council's inaction to date has only emboldened the Pyongyang regime and continued inaction would further embolden it," he said.

During the UNSC session, Robert Wood, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., also took issue with the arms trade between the North and Russia.

"Russian forces have now used DPRK ballistic missiles in Ukraine several times," he said. "We expect Russia will use additional missiles to destroy more of Ukraine's critical infrastructure and kill Ukrainian civilians."

He also claimed that Russia is "desperate" to deflect attention from its and North Korea's violations of UNSC resolutions.

"We know why the Russian Federation seeks to call so many meetings on legitimate military assistance to Ukraine," he said.

Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vasily Nebenzya hit back, arguing that the U.S. appears to be making "wrong" allegations that Russia has used North Korean missiles against Ukraine.

"This information came from John Kirby ... The official representative of the White House stated a few days ago and in fact, the representative of the Ukrainian air force said that Kyiv did not have any evidence of this fact," he said through an interpreter.

"The U.S. seems to be spreading information that is wrong, without going through the trouble of checking this beforehand," he added.

Also at the UNSC session was Geng Shuang, China's deputy representative to the U.N. He reiterated China's call for "calm" and restraint" over the conflict in Ukraine.

"It has been proven by history again that there are no winners in war and conflict," he said. "All parties need to embrace the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. pursue the general direction of political settlement, and support and bring about deescalation."

Before the council meeting, eight countries, including South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, issued a joint statement condemning Russia's procurement and use of weapons from the North in breach of UNSC resolutions.

"Each violation makes the world a much more dangerous place," it read. "A permanent Security Council member that willingly engages in these violations demonstrates a clear exploitation of its position." (Yonhap)