Foreign ministers of Japan, the US and South Korea say arms trade between North Korea and Russia should be restricted

The foreign ministers of 10 countries, including South Korea, the United States and Japan, as well as senior foreign and security officials from the European Union, have stated that they are "firmly opposed" to North Korea's transfer of weapons to Russia.
In a joint statement released on the 31st of last month, the foreign ministers said, "Russia has used (North Korean weapons) to attack critical Ukrainian facilities and has confirmed its intention to use them to attack Ukraine."
"We hope that North Korea and Russia will cease illegal arms transfers and that North Korea will dismantle all of its nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and related programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner," he said.
The statement was made by South Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the European Commission.
They said the recent independent sanctions imposed by various countries were "an effort to hold North Korea and Russia accountable and to make individuals and groups involved in North Korea's arms transfers to Russia pay a price."
The foreign ministers said they were "very concerned" about the deepening cooperation between North Korea and Russia. They were particularly concerned about the mission of the UN Security Council's Panel of Experts on North Korea Sanctions.
The foreign ministers condemned Russia for vetoing the extension resolution. They said, "We are not accepting North Korea's sincere proposal to 'return to diplomacy,' which is the only way to achieve lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."
I urge you to respond," he added.