South Korea and EU worry about Russia's technology transfer in return for North Korea troops

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea and the European Union on Monday strongly condemned North Korea’s reported dispatch of troops to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine and expressed concerns that Russia could reward North Korea with transfers of sensitive technology to enhance its nuclear and missile programs.

North Korea’s troop deployment, confirmed by the U.S. and NATO, threatens to expand the almost 3-year-long war and is causing security jitters in South Korea and elsewhere about what Russia could give North Korea in return.

After a meeting in Seoul, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell issued a joint statement condemning in the “strongest possible terms” North Korea’s deployment and voicing worries about Russia's possible provision of materials and technology to North Korea in support of its military objectives.

“We are also deeply concerned about the possibility for any transfer of nuclear- or ballistic missile-related technology to the DPRK, which would jeopardize the international non-proliferation efforts and threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and across the globe,” the statement said. DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

Cho and Borrell called North Korea's deployment a “flagrant” violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and called on North Korea and Russia to immediately withdraw the troops from Russia.

Also on Monday, in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who has been on an official visit to Russia since late last week. State television showed them greeting each other, but details of the meeting were not available.

Earlier Monday, Borrell met South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun and they agreed to work together with the international community to try to obstruct Russian-North Korean security cooperation, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.

North Korea and Russia haven’t explicitly confirmed the North Korean deployment. But they’ve both argued that their military cooperation conforms with international laws.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Monday that as many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers were in Russia’s Kursk region near Ukraine’s border and preparing to join Moscow’s fight against Ukraine in the coming days. That’s up from the 8,000 troops that the U.S. government mentioned Thursday.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allies to stop just “watching” and take steps before North Korean troops deployed in Russia reach the battlefield.

According to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments, North Korea was estimated to have moved a total of about 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia. If they start fighting against Ukraine forces, it would mark North Korea’s first participation in a large-scale conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has used the Russia-Ukraine war as a way to expand defense and economic cooperation with Russia in the face of an intensifying U.S.-led pressure campaign against his advancing nuclear program. The U.S., South Korea and others accuse North Korea of having already exported artillery shells, missiles and other conventional arms to Russia.

Besides Russia's possible weapons technology transfer, South Korean officials also worry that Moscow might offer defense commitment to North Korea in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula. The North Korean troops in Russia could also learn valuable combat experience and get Russian help to modernize their outdated conventional weapons systems.

In the past two years, Kim has ramped up tests of nuclear-capable missile systems, as Russia and China have repeatedly blocked U.S.-led attempts to toughen international sanctions on North Korea over its testing activities in defiance of U.N. bans. Last week, North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to attack the U.S. mainland for the first time in almost a year.

North Korea has also pushed to sever relations and abandon its long-standing goal of reconciliation with South Korea.

In a background briefing with local media Monday, South Korea’s military said North Korea has built anti-tank, trench-like structures at two sites near the Koreas’ heavily armed border, where it blew up northern parts of unused cross-border road and rail routes last month in a display of anger toward South Korea.

In a war situation, the North could easily fill up the trenches with piles of dirt nearby to create routes to invade the South, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Details of the briefing were shared with The Associated Press.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, right, talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (not in picture) during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. ( Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, right, during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. ( Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, talks to European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, not in picture, during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. ( Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, back to camera, during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. ( Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, arrive for their meeting at the Foreign Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. ( Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, shakes hands with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, at the Foreign Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. ( Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, left, and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, right, pose for a photo at the Defense Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)

In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, left, talks with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, right, during a meeting at the Defense Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)

Unionized factory workers at Boeing were voting Monday whether to accept a contract offer or to continue their strike, which has lasted more than seven weeks and shut down production of most Boeing passenger planes.

A vote to ratify the contract on the eve of Election Day would clear the way for a major U.S. manufacturer and government contractor to resume airplane production. If members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers vote for a third time to reject Boeing's offer, it would plunge the aerospace giant into further financial peril and uncertainty.

In its latest proposed contract, Boeing is offering pay raises of 38% over four years plus ratification and productivity bonuses. IAM District 751, which represents Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest, endorsed the proposal, which is slightly more generous than one the machinists voted down nearly two weeks ago.

“It is time for our members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory," the district leaders said in scheduling Monday's vote. "We believe asking members to stay on strike longer wouldn’t be right as we have achieved so much success.”

Union officials said they think they have gotten all they can though negotiations and a strike, and that if the current proposal is rejected, future offers from Boeing might be worse. They expect to announce the result of the vote late Monday.

Boeing says average annual pay for machinists is $75,608 and would rise to $119,309 in four years under the current offer.

Pensions were a key issue for workers who rejected the company's previous offers in September and October. In its new offer, Boeing did not meet their demand to restore a pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.

If machinists ratify the contract now on the table, they would return to work by Nov. 12, according to the union.

The strike began Sept. 13 with an overwhelming 94.6% rejection of Boeing's offer to raise pay by 25% over four years — far less than the union’s original demand for 40% wage increases over three years.

Machinists voted down another offer — 35% raises over four years, and still no revival of pensions — on Oct. 23, the same day that Boeing reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion. However, the offer received 36% support, up from 5% for the mid-September proposal, making Boeing leaders believe they were close to a deal.

In addition to a slightly larger pay increases, the new proposal includes a $12,000 contract ratification bonus, up from $7,000 in the previous offer, and larger company contributions to employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts.

Boeing also promises to build its next airline plane in the Seattle area. Union officials fear the company might withdraw the pledge if workers reject the new offer.

The strike drew the attention of the Biden administration. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su intervened in the talks several times, including last week.

The labor standoff — the first strike by Boeing machinists since an eight-week walkout in 2008 — is the latest setback in a volatile year for the company.

Boeing came under several federal investigations after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Federal regulators put limits on Boeing airplane production that they said would last until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company.

The door plug incident renewed concerns about the safety of the 737 Max. Two of the plane's crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The CEO whose effort to fix the company failed announced in March that he would step down. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.

As the strike dragged on, new CEO Kelly Ortberg announced about 17,000 layoffs and a stock sale to prevent the company’s credit rating from being cut to junk status. S&P and Fitch Ratings said last week that the $24.3 billion in stock and other securities will cover upcoming debt payments and reduce the risk of a credit downgrade.

The strike has created a cash crunch by depriving Boeing of money it gets when delivering new planes to airlines. The walkout at Seattle-area factories stopped production of the 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling plane, and the 777 or “triple-seven” jet and the cargo-carrying version of its 767 plane.

Ortberg has conceded that trust in Boeing has declined, the company has too much debt, and “serious lapses in our performance” have disappointed many airline customers. But, he says, the company’s strengths include a backlog of airplane orders valued at a half-trillion dollars.

From left, Boeing employees Vance Meyring, Josue Ramirez and Joseph Mellon work the picket line after union members voted to reject a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, outside Boeing facilities in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A picket sign sits outside the Angel of the Winds Arena as striking Boeing employees gather to cast their votes, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A worker holds a sign as Boeing employees vote on a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at a voting location in the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employees on strike arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A Boeing employee walks by a sign carved out of wood while arriving to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at Seattle Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employees on strike arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A volunteer holds a vote to accept a new contract offer from Boeing, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at Seattle Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A Boeing employee looks at informational pamphlets before heading in to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)