The White House on Tuesday warned North Korea against selling arms to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine, ahead of a possible summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Such arms delivery will not improve North Korea’s “image” and “they will pay the price in the international community,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. “active discussions” between Moscow and Pyongyang on this subject.
Mr. Sullivan acknowledged that he was unable to say precisely what types of weapons would be delivered. “It remains an open question as to what type of material and the quality of this material that could be delivered,” he said.
But “that says a lot about Russia, which must turn to a country like North Korea to strengthen its defense capabilities”.
Moscow on Tuesday refused to confirm the holding of such a summit between the Russian president and the North Korean leader, but raised the possibility of joint military exercises.
“No, we can’t (confirm), we have nothing to say on this matter,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters of the White House claims.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also announced on Monday that the two countries were discussing the possibility of holding joint military exercises.
“We are discussing it with everyone, including North Korea. Why not? They are our neighbours,” the minister, quoted by TASS, told reporters.
On Monday, the White House said Kim Jong Un planned to travel to Russia to discuss arms sales with Vladimir Putin.
She also denounced Mr. Shoigu’s visit to North Korea at the end of July, where he attended a military parade alongside Kim Jong Un, to “try to convince Pyongyang to sell Russia artillery ammunition”.
“As we have previously stated, negotiations on the supply of weapons between Russia and North Korea are actively progressing,” Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, told reporters. . And “we know that Kim Jong Un wants these negotiations to continue, including a diplomatic exchange at the highest level in Russia.”
According to the American daily The New York Times, Moscow is seeking artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from Pyongyang, while Mr Kim is seeking advanced technologies for nuclear-powered satellites and submarines as well as of food aid.
For Washington, such arms agreements “would violate Security Council resolutions” sanctioning North Korea.
US officials also said daily that Mr. Kim would probably travel by armored train later this month to Vladivostok, on the Pacific coast of Russia, not far from North Korea, to meet Mr. Putin there.
Vladivostok hosts the Eastern Economic Forum from September 10 to 13, which last year hosted representatives from 68 countries.
An official at the South Korean Unification Ministry told AFP that several elements “indicated” that discussions between Pyongyang and Moscow on future arms deliveries were progressing.
Mr. Kim’s trips abroad are rare. Besides his trips to Singapore and Vietnam in 2018 and 2019 for summits with then-US President Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un made four visits to China. He also previously met Mr. Putin in Vladivostok in 2019.
Washington said last week that Pyongyang had supplied infantry rockets and missiles to Russia in 2022 for use by the private paramilitary group Wagner.
Last week, Washington, London, Seoul and Tokyo said any deal to increase Russia-North Korea cooperation would violate Security Council resolutions banning arms sales to Pyongyang, which Moscow has endorsed.
Following Shoigu’s visit to Pyongyang, other Russian officials traveled to North Korea for follow-up talks, they added.
According to Cho Han-bum, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, international sanctions will not prevent any exchange of arms between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Russia and North Korea are “not worried” about sanctions because both countries are already subject to them, he said, adding that military cooperation between the two countries seems “inevitable”.
05/09/2023 20:58:37 – Washington (AFP) – © 2023 AFP