After a brief stop in Beijing to warm up the meeting that took place on Wednesday between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, arrived in North Korea in the midst of all the information that suggests that Pyongyang would be sending arming the Russian army for its war in Ukraine. Lavrov’s visit also came just a month after the strange trip that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made to Russia to discuss military cooperation with Putin.
When Lavrov landed in the North Korean capital, Russian television broadcast several videos of the minister greeting a choreographed crowd that cheered him on his arrival. The state news agency TASS published four photographs of Lavrov’s meeting with Kim Jong-un. Several media have indicated that one of the objectives of the trip was to prepare for an upcoming visit by Putin to Pyongyang.
Before meeting Kim, the Russian minister met with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, to whom he thanked North Korea for supporting Moscow in its war against Ukraine. “Moscow deeply values ??Pyongyang’s unwavering and principled support in the special military operation,” he said.
While the Russian minister was in the North Korean capital, from neighboring South Korea they claimed that the weapons of the Kim regime, in addition to helping Russia in Ukraine, had ended up in Palestine, in the hands of Hamas. North Korea denies that it is arming the Palestinian fundamentalist group.
According to a senior South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official, Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel exposed the group’s “direct and indirect ties” to North Korea, and the weapons used in the offensive “most likely” left Pyongyang and passed through through intermediaries, including Iran.
During the 7-O attack, Hamas reportedly used F-7 anti-tank weapons. The Associated Press agency, citing reports from several defense analysts, points out that these are RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers that are manufactured in North Korea and that fighters often use against armored vehicles. Seoul has also assured that the 122 mm multiple rocket launcher projectiles found near the Israeli border had a mark in the Korean language.
“Iran has provided many North Korean weapons to militant groups, and this is believed to be the main way that Palestinians have come to possess North Korean weapons,” says Jenzen-Jones, an arms expert who works as director of the consultancy Armament. Research Services.
During Lavrov’s visit, there was no reference to the war in the Middle East. Nor any public comment regarding whether North Korea is sending weapons to Russia, as the United States has been warning all year. White House national security spokesman John Kirby claimed a few months ago that Pyongyang was covertly channeling artillery shells to help Russia in its invasion, specifically by delivering artillery to the Wagner group. The North Korean regime also denied it.
A few days ago, the White House specified even more, pointing out that more than 1,000 containers of equipment and ammunition were sent directly to Russia from North Korea between September 7 and October 1. As evidence, they published a series of images showing that the containers were loaded onto a Russian-flagged ship before being transferred by train to the southwest of the country, near Tikhoretsk, 290 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
Kirby later explained that it was US intelligence agencies that tracked the deliveries and that the military equipment was exported by sea and rail to a supply depot in Tikhoretsk. “Russia primarily seeks weaponry from Pyongyang that includes fighter jets, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles and ballistic missile production equipment,” Kirby said.
Pyongyang’s support for the Kremlin is absolute. During his trip, Lavrov also praised North Korea for “firmly defending its sovereignty and security, undeterred by any pressure from the United States and the West.” Analysts believe Russia is trying to use North Korea’s munitions stockpile for its invasion of Ukraine, while the North Koreans seek access to advanced Russian technologies for their nuclear weapons program.
Just after Putin mobilized his troops on Kiev, North Korea was one of four countries – along with Eritrea, Belarus and Syria – that opposed the United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning the attack. Moscow then returned the favor by exercising its veto power over new sanctions by the UN Security Council against Pyongyang for its nuclear program.
During Kim Jong-un’s recent visit to Russia’s Far East, the North Korean dictator promised Putin Pyongyang’s “full and unconditional support” for Moscow’s “security and defense needs.” Lavrov’s trip has reinforced the North Korean leader’s commitment. Months earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was the first senior Kremlin representative to visit Pyongyang. He toured a large weapons exhibit displaying new designs for combat drones and nuclear-capable missiles.