UKRAINE HAS ANNOUNCED it is severing relations with North Korea, as Pyongyang confirmed it was formally recognising two self-proclaimed pro-Russian republics in eastern Ukraine.
North Korea’s recognition of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic came after another Russian ally, Syria, made the same move last month.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry in a statement denounced North Korea’s decision to recognise territories Kyiv described as “temporarily occupied by Russia”.
“In response… Ukraine announces it is cutting diplomatic relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the statement said.
“Russia no longer has any allies in the world, with the exception of countries that depend on it financially and politically,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, according to the statement.
Kuleba said Russia had appealed to North Korea to recognise the territory in a move that “speaks more about Moscow’s toxicity than Pyongyang’s”.
Russia recognised the self-proclaimed republics shortly before it launched its invasion of pro-European neighbour Ukraine on February 24.
North Korean state media KCNA said this morning the country “decided to recognise the independence of the People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Lugansk and expressed the will to develop the state-to-state relations with those countries in the idea of independence, peace and friendship.”
Earlier, the separatists’ representation in Moscow issued a photo on Telegram showing its envoy Olga Makeyeva receiving what she described as a letter of recognition from North Korea’s ambassador, Sin Hong-chol.
Donetsk and neighbouring Lugansk lie in the Donbas coal region in eastern Ukraine.
The region has been partially controlled by pro-Russian forces since 2014, a move that followed Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
The 2022 offensive has been defended by Russia in part as the need to protect the two separatist entities.
The Donetsk separatists inaugurated their “embassy” in Moscow on Tuesday and said then they were in talks with North Korea on possible recognition.
Separatist officials have long said they want their regions to eventually join Russia.
Grain talks
Meanwhile, military delegations from Russia and Ukraine held their governments’ first face-to-face talks in months yesterday as they tried to reach an agreement on a United Nations plan to export blocked Ukrainian grain to world markets through the Black Sea.
Turkish military officials and UN envoys were also taking part in the meeting in Istanbul focused on finding a way to get millions of tons of grain sitting in silos amid the war in Ukraine shipped out of the country’s ports toward the Mediterranean.
The Russian and Ukrainian officials, dressed in civilian clothes, faced each other as the delegations were seated around a large square table.
Turkey’s Defence Ministry announced later the talks had ended about an hour and a half after it confirmed that they had begun, but did not provide details.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but Russia’s invasion and war has disrupted production and halted shipments, endangering food supplies in many developing countries, especially in Africa, and contributing to higher global food prices.
Turkey has offered to provide safe Black Sea corridors and worked with the UN, Russia and Ukraine to reach an agreement. The UN would establish a centre in Istanbul to control the shipments, Turkish officials have said.
Russian and Ukrainian officials have traded accusations over the stuck grain shipments. Moscow claims Ukraine’s heavily mined ports are causing the delay. Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged that Moscow would not use the corridors to launch an attack, if the sea mines were removed.
Ukrainian officials have blamed a Russian naval blockade for holding up exports and causing the global food crisis. They remained sceptical of Mr Putin’s pledge not to take advantage of cleared Black Sea corridors to mount an attack, noting that he insisted earlier this year he had no plans to invade Ukraine.
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