North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has told his military chiefs to be ready for World War III amid the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Members of the Worker’s Party were told to be prepared for mobilization following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to Radio Free Asia, North Korean authorities held off on broadcasting the news of Ukraine’s invasion for days before releasing the information to the public. While the invasion progressed, the ruling Korean Worker’s Party held private meetings for two days after Russian forces deployed a large-scale invasion on Ukraine. North Pyongyang had kept a lid on the news as they discussed their moves in response to their international relations with a “strong ally”.
“International relations are strained with Russia at war, so the regional party committee demanded that everyone be ready to be mobilized at all times,” a North Pyongyang source said. The order was for North Korea to be prepared “to enter into war immediately under any circumstances”.
Reactions from citizens about the war had a surprising mix of radical comments where some say they wish the war would break out and “this disgusting system we are living under would come to an end.” Others responded saying they recognize the hypocrisy of the government siding with Russia while it attacked an independent country.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs relayed the country’s stance on the Ukraine conflict placing much of the blame on the United States and its Western allies. “Having devastated Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, [they] are mouthing phrases about ‘respect for sovereignty and ‘territorial integrity over the Ukrainian situation which was detonated by themselves. That does not stand to reason at all.”
This was the first official statement of Pyongyang on Ukraine although a public commentary on the ministry’s website laid heavily on Washington for its “high-handedness and arbitrariness” that has shaken international peace and stability.
On Feb, 26, China's Xi Jinping spoke with North Korea's state media KCNA and stressed the significance of cooperation with Pyongyang, saying they are ready to work with the Korean side and develop a steady China - DPRK relations of friendship "under a new situation, however, the nature of the said "new situation" was not elaborated.
Looking back in history, it was in 1948 when the Soviet Union helped establish North Korea as a nation after occupying the northern half of the Korean peninsula after Japan’s defeat in WWII. This placed Kim’s grandfather as the country’s leader. Vladimir Putin revitalized ties with Pyongyang in 2000 when the USSR collapsed.
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