ROME: Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven democracies and three key allies said on Tuesday they were gravely concerned by the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia and the possibility they may be used in the war against Ukraine.

“The DPRK’s (North Korea) direct support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, besides showing Russia’s desperate efforts to compensate its losses, would mark a dangerous expansion of the conflict,” the ministers said in a statement.

Besides G7 members the United States, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany, France and Canada, the statement was also signed by South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

More than 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia for Ukraine war, says South Korea

The ministers said they condemned “in the strongest possible terms” increased military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including Russia’s “unlawful procurement” of North Korean ballistic missiles.

They said they were deeply concerned about the potential for any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology to North Korea, and would work with international partners “for a coordinated response to this new development”.