North Korean leader sees missile strikes inside Russia as Western involvement in conflict

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said at a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov that strikes inside Russia with longer-range Western weapons represent direct interference in the conflict in Ukraine, the Korean Central News Agency reported, Report informs via TASS.

"Comrade Kim Jong Un said the fact that the US and the West, with the hands of the Kyiv government, struck Russia's territory with their long-range weapons constitutes a direct military intervention in the conflict," the report said.

"Kim Jong Un mentioned that the retaliatory strike on Ukraine that was recently launched by the Russian government and the military is a timely and effective measure to notify the US, the West and Ukraine, which are clinging to unwise military recklessness, of the seriousness of the situation and Russia's will for harsh countermeasures," the KCNA reported.

According to the North Korean leader, it should be shown to the "US-led provocative forces" that they will achieve nothing useful if they ignore Russia's warning.

Russia responded by firing its newest Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile with a non-nuclear warhead at a Yuzhmash Ukrainian defense industry plant in the city of Dnipro, Putin said. The Russian leader said the West could bring upon itself heavy consequences, should its inflammatory policies prompt further escalation of the conflict.