2nd October 2023 – (Seoul) Kim Jong Gyu, the director general of the Russian Affairs Department at the North Korean Foreign Ministry, has accused the US and other Western countries of attempting to conceal their role in the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines. He criticised their rejection of Russia’s proposal for an international joint investigation, which would involve Russia as a directly related party and be overseen by the United Nations. Furthermore, Kim stated that Russia has not been informed of the investigation results, calling it a “petty trick” to hide their involvement in the sabotage crime.
Kim Jong Gyu urged the international community to support Russia’s demand for an unbiased and thorough investigation into the Nord Stream blasts, involving Russian investigative authorities and all interested parties. He emphasised that this situation highlights the double standards and malicious intentions of the U.S. and the West, who consistently demonise independent countries while claiming to uphold fairness and objectivity.
The Nord Stream AG reported unprecedented damage to three sections of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines on 27th September, 2022. Swedish seismologists had detected two explosions on the pipeline routes the day before. While Germany, Denmark, and Sweden initiated their own national investigations, they refused Russia’s participation. In February, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh alleged that U.S. Navy divers, with Norwegian assistance, planted explosive devices under the pipelines during the Baltops exercise in June 2022. Hersh claimed that U.S. President Joe Biden authorised the operation after months of consultations with national security officials.