Ukraine severs diplomatic ties with North Korea.
Ukraine announced it was severing diplomatic ties with North Korea after Pyongyang recognized the independence of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.
On July 13, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry issued a statement criticizing North Korea for its recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine.
"In response, Ukraine announced it was severing diplomatic relations with North Korea," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement.
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Foreign Minister Kuleba after a meeting at the European Union (EU) headquarters in Belgium in May. Photo:AFP. |
The North Korean state news agency KCNA announced today that the country "decided to recognize the independence of the DPR and LPR, expressing its desire to develop relations between the states for independence, peace and friendship," but made no mention of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's statement.
This move makes North Korea the third country to recognize the independence of the two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, after Russia and Syria.
The Donetsk and Lugansk provinces, located in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, became hotspots of conflict in 2014 after residents unsuccessfully demanded greater autonomy and organized armed resistance. Before the outbreak of hostilities in February, the Ukrainian government launched two large-scale military operations to regain control of Donbass, but both were unsuccessful.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the DPR and LPR. Three days later, Moscow launched an operation in Ukraine aimed at "demilitarization and defascism." Russian forces aimed to "liberate" Donbass and have already taken control of Lugansk.
In April 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with Putin in the city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East. The North Korean Foreign Ministry emphasized in April that "even in the face of challenges and pressure from the United States, relations between Pyongyang and Moscow continue to develop and strengthen." A month later, Russia vetoed the UN Security Council to block further sanctions against North Korea.
