Security advisers of S. Korea, US decry N. Korea's missile transfer to Russia for use in Ukraine

The national security advisers of South Korea and the United States condemned "in the strongest possible terms" North Korea's transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine during a phone call on Tuesday, the White House said.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his new South Korean counterpart, Chang Ho-jin, to discuss the North's increasing military cooperation with Russia and its provocative actions along the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, it said.

Their conversation followed the US' revelations that the North has provided Russia with several dozen ballistic missiles, some of which were launched against Ukraine on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and Saturday.

"The two officials condemned in the strongest possible terms the DPRK's transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia and Russia's use of these missiles against Ukraine," the White House said in a readout, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"They noted that the transfer and use of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions, undermines the global non-proliferation regime and has significant security implications for Europe, the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region," it added.

The two also committed to close cooperation in support of Ukraine and its people, and close collaboration on shared security challenges to bolster peace and security across the Indo-Pacific region and around the globe.

South Korea's presidential office said in a separate release that Chang noted that last year was a "symbolic year" for the development of the South Korea-US alliance and cooperation among South Korea, the US and Japan.

He also expressed his wish for close cooperation with Sullivan for the further development of their countries' global comprehensive strategic alliance across the areas of extended deterrence, their Indo-Pacific strategies, emerging technologies and economic security.

Sullivan expressed his agreement, stating his commitment to further strengthening the robust alliance this year and his wish to meet Chang in person in the near future. (Yonhap)