STORY: :: Ottawa, Canada
:: June 19, 2024
:: NATO's chief says Russia and North Korea's new
pact shows authoritarian powers are aligning
:: Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General
:: "We need to be aware of that authoritarian powers are aligning more and more and they are supporting each other in a way that we haven't seen before."
"We see that also, of course, in the war in Ukraine. North Korea has provided an enormous amount of ammunition."
TRIM
"So, of course, in return, Russia is giving something to North Korea. We are very deeply concerned about the possibility of also Russia now providing support for their nuclear and missile programs."
"So, again, the answer is that when they are more and more aligned - authoritarian regimes like North Korea, China, Iran, Russia- then it's even more important that we are aligned as countries believing in freedom and democracy. So NATO is in that way even more important now than before."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said North Korea had provided "an enormous amount of ammunition" to Russia while both China and Iran were supporting Moscow militarily in its war against Ukraine.
