2023-09-05 19:41:15
5/9/2023-|Last update: 5/9/202310:31 PM (Mecca Time)
A senior White House official warned Tuesday that North Korea will face consequences if it supplies arms to Russia in its war against Ukraine.
“North Korea will pay the price for this in the international community,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
Sullivan acknowledged that he could not specify any weapons that could be delivered, and said, “This remains an open question about the type and quality of equipment that can be delivered,” stressing that this indicates a lot about Russia, which has to turn to a country like North Korea. to enhance its defense capabilities.
Putin-Kim summit
In a related context, the Kremlin declined today to confirm a possible upcoming summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which US officials expected to take place.
“No, we cannot confirm that,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question about whether Kim would meet Putin soon, adding, “We have nothing to say on this issue.”
Kim (left) and Putin during a previous meeting in 2019 (Archyde.com)
The White House announced yesterday, Monday, that the North Korean leader intends to hold talks with Putin in Russia within the framework of the “arms negotiations” taking place between the two countries, with the aim of supplying Moscow with North Korean weapons.
“As we have previously warned publicly, arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are progressing rapidly,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the US National Security Council.
“We have information that Kim Jong Un expects that these talks will continue to include diplomatic dialogue in Russia at the level of leaders,” she told media.
Last Wednesday, the official spokesman for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, expressed his concern about the rapid progress in these negotiations regarding future arms shipments from Pyongyang to Moscow, and called on the North Korean authorities to “put an end” to these discussions.
Kirby revealed that “these potential deals will lead to Russia obtaining large quantities” of weapons, especially ammunition for artillery, in addition to raw materials for defense industries.
For her part, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield said that these weapons “will be used against Ukraine.”
According to the New York Times, Kim Jong Un is expected to travel to Vladivostok on Russia’s eastern coast in an armored train later this September to meet Putin.
An official at South Korea’s Unification Ministry said several elements indicated progress in discussions between Pyongyang and Moscow on future arms deliveries.
“Any form of cooperation between North Korea and neighboring countries must be conducted in a manner that does not violate international norms and peace,” he added.
The North Korean leader rarely travels outside the country. In addition to his trips to Singapore and Vietnam in 2018 and 2019 to attend meetings with former US President Donald Trump, Kim made four visits to China, and the North Korean president previously met Putin in Vladivostok in 2019.
Shoigu (right) visited North Korea last July and met with Kim (Archyde.com)
Artillery shells and missiles
The New York Times reported that Putin wants to get artillery and anti-tank missiles from North Korea, while Kim wants to get advanced technologies for satellites and submarines, in addition to food aid.
Washington announced last week that North Korea had supplied Russia with missiles and missiles in 2022, which were used by the Wagner Group in Ukraine.
Yesterday, Monday, the White House again denounced the visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the end of last July to North Korea, where he attended a military parade alongside Kim Jong-un, saying that this was “an attempt to persuade Pyongyang to sell Russia artillery ammunition.”
Shoigu said yesterday that Moscow is discussing holding joint exercises with North Korea.
The Interfax news agency quoted Shoigu as saying, “Why not? These are our neighbors. There is an old Russian proverb that says: You do not choose your neighbors, and it is better to live with your neighbors in peace and harmony.”
And the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported yesterday, Monday, quoting the South Korean intelligence service, that Shoigu had suggested to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that their countries, in addition to China, conduct naval exercises.
Sanctions on three entities
The United States, Britain, South Korea and Japan announced in a joint statement last week at the United Nations that any agreement to increase bilateral cooperation between Russia and North Korea would be a violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning arms deals with Pyongyang, which are decisions supported by Moscow itself.
The four countries added that after Shoigu’s visit to Pyongyang, another group of Russian officials traveled to North Korea to follow up on talks on arms purchases.
And last August, Washington imposed sanctions on three entities accused of trying to facilitate arms sales between North Korea and Russia.
And it turned out that these entities are linked to a Slovak citizen who was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department last March, for facilitating arms sales between Pyongyang and Moscow, according to the Treasury Department.
According to the same source, Russia is running out of ammunition and losing heavy equipment in Ukraine, forcing it to turn to its main allies for help.
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