The US has new information that Russia and North Korea are negotiating arms deals under which the isolated regime would provide President Vladimir Putin’s army with munitions and other support for its invasion of Ukraine, the White House said.
(Bloomberg) — The US has new information that Russia and North Korea are negotiating arms deals under which the isolated regime would provide President Vladimir Putin’s army with munitions and other support for its invasion of Ukraine, the White House said.
Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged letters to increase cooperation, and Russian officials have visited Pyongyang for conversations about possible arms deals, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“We have new information which we’re able to share today that arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are actively advancing,” Kirby said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “Under these potential deals, Russia would receive significant quantities and multiple types of munitions from the DPRK which the Russian military plans to use in Ukraine.”
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The US revelation comes about a month after Kim met Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang and gave him a tour of a weapons exhibition where nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and drones were on display. The Biden administration has for months accused Russia and the Wagner mercenary group of receiving deliveries of North Korean munitions.
“We urge the DPRK to cease its arms negotiations with Russia by by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms production,” Kirby said.
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