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Tehran Eyes ‘Stronger Military Cooperation’ with Beijing, Moscow

Defense ministers of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China take a photo on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meetings. (Reuters)
Defense ministers of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China take a photo on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meetings. (Reuters)
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Tehran Eyes ‘Stronger Military Cooperation’ with Beijing, Moscow

Defense ministers of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China take a photo on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meetings. (Reuters)
Defense ministers of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China take a photo on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meetings. (Reuters)

The defense ministers of China and Iran have agreed on closer cooperation on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), being held in Kazakhstan.

Iran’s Defense Minister, Brig. Gen. Mohammed-Reza Ashtiani, said: “Improved cooperation and rapprochement on both sides is needed to resolve regional and international security problems.”

He spoke after talks with China’s Admiral Dong Jun in Astana, the Kazakh capital.

Tehran joined the SCO last year and later became part of BRICS with Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

China is now Iran’s top oil buyer, and they signed a 25-year cooperation agreement in 2021.

Meanwhile, Russia expressed readiness to expand military and technical ties with Iran, with more communication between their military offices.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted by Russian media telling Ashtiani during a meeting on Friday that Moscow is prepared to expand military and technical cooperation with Iran.

The agency reported Shoigu as saying that communication between the military administrations of both countries has significantly increased recently.

Also, Moscow and Tehran signed a security deal after talks in St. Petersburg.

Russia’s increased activity in the region comes amidst rising tensions, including between Iran and the West, following recent strikes between Tehran and Tel Aviv.

The security deal strengthens the alliance between Russia and Iran, focusing on practical security cooperation.

In Tehran, Friday prayer leader Ahmad Khatami warned Israel of a “fresh slap,” with the Tasnim news agency quoting him as saying that Iran’s response to Israel would be punishing.

After recent attacks attributed to Israel in Iran, officials close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei emphasized that Iran could respond even more strongly if Israel continues its attacks.

On his part, Ashtiani described Iran’s response as a “limited warning.”

He stressed that Iran seeks to avoid escalating the conflict and doesn’t want war or increased tension in the region. Ashtiani warned that any reckless aggression from enemies will be met with a suitable and painful response.

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N. Korean Soldier Captured in Russia-Ukraine War Dies, Says Seoul

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (Center-R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) walk past children during a welcoming ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. (Sputnik/AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (Center-R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) walk past children during a welcoming ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. (Sputnik/AFP)
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N. Korean Soldier Captured in Russia-Ukraine War Dies, Says Seoul

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (Center-R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) walk past children during a welcoming ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. (Sputnik/AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (Center-R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) walk past children during a welcoming ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. (Sputnik/AFP)

A North Korean soldier who was captured while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine has died of his wounds, South Korea's spy agency said on Friday.

Pyongyang has deployed thousands of troops to reinforce Russia's military, including in the Kursk border region where Ukraine mounted a shock border incursion in August.

One of those North Korean soldiers was captured alive by the Ukrainian army on Thursday, a South Korean intelligence source told AFP, adding that the location where he was seized was not known.

Hours later, Seoul's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that the soldier had succumbed to his wounds.

"It has been confirmed through an allied intelligence agency that the North Korean soldier captured alive on December 26th has just passed away due to worsening wounds," the South's spy agency said in a statement.

Friday's confirmation came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that nearly 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been "killed or wounded" so far as they joined Russian troops in combat.

South Korea's intelligence service had previously put the number of killed or wounded North Koreans at 1,000, saying the high casualty rate could be down to an unfamiliar battlefield environment and their lack of capability to counter drone attacks.

Pyongyang's soldiers were also being "utilized as expendable frontline assault units", lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun said, speaking last week after a briefing by South Korea's spy agency.

- 'Dangerous expansion' -

North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A landmark defense pact between Pyongyang and Moscow signed in June came into force this month, with Russian President Vladimir Putin hailing it as a "breakthrough document".

North Korean state media said Friday that Putin sent a New Year's message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying "the bilateral ties between our two countries have been elevated after our talks in June in Pyongyang".

Ukraine's allies have called Pyongyang's growing involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine a "dangerous expansion" of the conflict.

Seoul's military believes that North Korea was seeking to modernize its conventional warfare capabilities through combat experience gained in the Russia-Ukraine war.

NATO chief Mark Rutte had also said that Moscow was providing support to Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs in exchange for the troops.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday that Pyongyang is reportedly "preparing for the rotation or additional deployment of soldiers" and supplying "240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled artillery" to the Russian army.

Pyongyang's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine had prompted warnings from Seoul.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, currently suspended, said in November that Seoul was "not ruling out the possibility of providing weapons" to Ukraine, which would mark a major shift to a long-standing policy barring the sale of weapons to countries in active conflict.