US, South Korea, Japan Raise Concerns over Russia-North Korea Military Cooperation

A handout photo made available by South Korean Foreign Ministry shows (L-R) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin posing for a photo during a meeting in New York, USA 22 September 2023. (EPA/South Korean Foreign Ministry)
A handout photo made available by South Korean Foreign Ministry shows (L-R) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin posing for a photo during a meeting in New York, USA 22 September 2023. (EPA/South Korean Foreign Ministry)
TT

US, South Korea, Japan Raise Concerns over Russia-North Korea Military Cooperation

A handout photo made available by South Korean Foreign Ministry shows (L-R) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin posing for a photo during a meeting in New York, USA 22 September 2023. (EPA/South Korean Foreign Ministry)
A handout photo made available by South Korean Foreign Ministry shows (L-R) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin posing for a photo during a meeting in New York, USA 22 September 2023. (EPA/South Korean Foreign Ministry)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and South Korean, Japanese counterparts expressed "serious concern" over the discussion of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, including possible arms trade, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

Blinken, South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa agreed to respond firmly to any acts that threaten regional security in violation of UN Security Council resolution in a brief meeting on Friday, the ministry said in a statement.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un made a weeklong visit to Russia last week and discussed military cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

US and South Korean officials have expressed concern that the summit was aimed at allowing Russia to acquire ammunition from the North to supplement its dwindling stocks for its war in Ukraine.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday that if Russia helped North Korea enhance its weapons programs in return for assistance for its war in Ukraine, it would be "a direct provocation" and Seoul and its allies would not stand idly by.



Zelenskiy Says Trump Assured Him of Support for Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on as he meets with democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris (not pictured), in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on as he meets with democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris (not pictured), in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
TT

Zelenskiy Says Trump Assured Him of Support for Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on as he meets with democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris (not pictured), in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on as he meets with democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris (not pictured), in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in an interview with Fox News aired on Saturday, said he received "very direct information" from Donald Trump that the former US president would support Ukraine in the war against Russia if he is reelected in the November presidential election.

Zelenskiy, who was in the United States for the UN General Assembly, presented his war "victory plan" to Trump during a closed-door meeting on Friday, after the Republican presidential candidate said he would work with both Ukraine and Russia to end their conflict.

Speaking to Fox News after that meeting, Zelenskiy said: "I don't know what will be after elections and who will be the president ... But I've got from Donald Trump very direct information that he will be on our side, that he will support Ukraine."

He has used his US visit to promote his "victory plan," which a US official described as a repackaged request for more weapons and a lifting of restrictions on the use of long-range missiles. The plan presupposes the ultimate defeat of Russia in the war, the official said. Some officials see the aim as unrealistic.

Zelenskiy, who also met with US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden, said he was seeking united US support in its continuing war with Russia and was not backing either side in US elections.

"I don't want to be involved to the election period ... I don't want to lose one or another part of Americans," Zelenskiy told Fox News.

On Friday, Trump said he was pleased to meet with Zelenskiy, a marked change in tone from some of his previous comments on the campaign trail.

Trump and Harris' differences on Ukraine echo splits in their respective Democratic and Republican parties, and their view of the US role in the world.

Trump and some Republicans in Congress have questioned the value of US funding and additional weapons for Ukraine's two-year battle against Russia, calling it futile, while Democrats led by Biden have pushed to punish Russia and bolster Ukraine, framing Ukraine's victory as a vital national security interest.