SEOUL, June 2, 2025 (AFP) - North Korea on Monday defended its military cooperation with Russia, saying ties were aimed at "ensuring peace and stability" in Europe and Asia.

The two countries have strengthened military cooperation in recent years, with Pyongyang supplying arms and troops to support Moscow's war against Ukraine.

Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, according to South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun, citing the country's intelligence service.

A multilateral sanctions monitoring group including South Korea, the United States, Japan and eight other countries on Friday condemned those ties as "unlawful".

In response, Pyongyang said its cooperation with Moscow was "aimed at protecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests of the states" as well as "ensuring peace and stability in the Eurasian region".

The statement by a foreign ministry official described ties with Russia as the "cream of inter-state relations".

Pyongyang and Moscow, they added, could "establish a multi-polar world order based on genuine respect for sovereignty, equality and justice".

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, launched last October, monitors and reports violations of UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea, though it operates independently of the UN.

Its creation followed Russia's veto of a Security Council resolution that effectively ended the system in place to monitor Pyongyang's compliance with UN sanctions first implemented in 2006 and subsequently strengthened several times.

According to the group, Russian-flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as "nine million rounds of mixed artillery and multiple rocket launcher ammunition" in 2024 from North Korea to Russia.

In return, "Russia is believed to have provided North Korea with air defence equipment and anti-aircraft missiles", it said.

North Korea in April confirmed for the first time that it had deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow's war in Ukraine.