A high-ranking US official has expressed deep concern over Vladimir Putin’s indication that Russia might provide weapons to North Korea.
This statement comes shortly after Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inked a defense pact obligating their nations to offer immediate military support if either is attacked.
Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US State Department, stated that Russian arms deliveries to Pyongyang “would destabilize the Korean peninsula, of course, and potentially … depending on the type of weapons they provide … violate UN Security Council resolutions that Russia itself has supported.”
Tensions over the supply of arms to both sides in the Ukraine conflict have heightened this week.
There is speculation that during their meeting in Pyongyang on Wednesday, Putin and Kim discussed additional provisions of North Korean missiles and ammunition for Russian forces.
On Thursday, during a state visit to Vietnam, Putin remarked that reciprocal supplies of Russian arms to North Korea would be an appropriate countermeasure to the Western supply of weapons to Ukrainian forces.
He stated, “Those who send these [missiles to Ukraine] think that they are not fighting us, but I said, including in Pyongyang, that we then reserve the right to supply weapons to other regions of the world, with regard to our agreements” with North Korea. “I do not rule this out.”
Putin, who met Kim for the second time in nine months, also cautioned South Korea against arming Ukraine, describing it as a “big mistake.”
He added, “I hope it doesn’t happen.
If it happens, then we will be making relevant decisions that are unlikely to please the current leadership of South Korea.”
South Korea, a prominent arms exporter with robust military backing from the United States, has so far limited its support to non-lethal aid and has joined US-led sanctions against Moscow.
However, it maintains a longstanding policy against supplying weapons to countries engaged in conflicts.
On Friday, Chang Ho-jin, national security adviser to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, indicated that Seoul might reconsider its stance on arming Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also expressed concern that Russia might assist North Korea in advancing its ballistic and nuclear missile programs, both of which have progressed significantly despite years of UN Security Council sanctions.
US officials believe North Korea seeks to obtain advanced military technologies from Moscow, including fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, and materials for ballistic missile production.
There is evidence suggesting Pyongyang has already provided Russia with a substantial number of ballistic missiles and artillery shells, though North Korea has dismissed these claims as “absurd.”
Russian arms exports to North Korea could escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula and potentially spark a regional arms race involving South Korea and Japan, both US allies.
Relations between the two Koreas have significantly deteriorated recently, with North Korea resuming Cold War-era psychological warfare tactics, including using balloons to drop large quantities of rubbish across the border.
In response, Seoul has broadcasted anti-North Korean propaganda via loudspeakers and fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers reportedly crossed the border multiple times this month.
Additionally, there is evidence that North Korea is constructing barriers along the border, following reports of several soldiers being killed or injured while clearing landmines.
High-resolution satellite images reviewed by the BBC reveal at least three sections of newly built barriers along a 7km stretch of the border.
Dr. Uk Yang, a military and defense expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, noted, “My personal assessment is that this is the first time they’ve ever built a barrier in the sense of separating places from each other.”
Putin’s visit to Vietnam, marked by a 21-gun salute on Thursday, has also raised concerns in Washington.
In response, the US’s top diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, will visit Vietnam on Friday and Saturday to reaffirm Washington’s commitment to a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region.
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