North Korea criticized the US for crossing a red line to “realize the goal of hegemony by proxy war”, when it pledged to provide battle tanks to Ukraine.
“I express deep concern about the US escalating the hostilities by providing Ukraine with military equipment for ground attack,” said Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. statement today.
“The US and Western countries have no right and no reason to slander the exercise of the right of self-defense by sovereign states,” Kim Yo-jong added.
The comments of the North Korean side came after the US announced on January 25 that it would provide Ukraine with 31 of the most advanced battle tanks M1A1 Abrams. This move has removed the taboo in the West’s support for Ukraine, when supplying weapons with an offensive target.
Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, attends a meeting in Pyongyang in August 2022. Photo: AFP.
“Hidden behind the move to provide tanks is the sinister intention of the US to realize its hegemonic goal by further expanding the proxy war to destroy Russia,” she stressed. “America is a mortal criminal, and North Korea will always stand in the same trenches with Russian soldiers and people. The world will now be brighter, safer and more peaceful without the actions of the US.” .
Apart from Syria and Russia, North Korea is the only country to recognize the independence of Lugansk and Donetsk, two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia, one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, has long opposed increased pressure on North Korea and demanded the lifting of international sanctions on Pyongyang because humanitarian reasons.
The US developed the M1 Abrams in 1972-1975 and operated this tank from 1980 to the present. The M1 tank is equipped with a 120 mm cannon, a 7.62 mm coaxial gun and a 12.7 mm gun, which can reach a maximum speed of 67 km/h. The crew of M1 Abrams has 4 people, including the commander, gunner, loader and driver.
Russia has repeatedly stated that any weapons transferred by the West to Ukraine will only prolong the conflict and lead to unnecessary bloodshed. Peskov accused the US and Western countries of becoming more and more involved in the conflict in Ukraine, and emphasized that the West’s supply of vehicles to Ukraine could not change the situation on the ground, because “tanks This is and will be burned down.”
Huyen Le (Theo Reuters, AFP)