USA worried
Putin brings arms deliveries to North Korea into play
21.06.2024, 02:16 am
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Russian President Putin is intensifying ties with North Korea and is not ruling out arms deliveries. This is causing great concern in the USA. The Foreign Ministry fears a destabilization of the Korean peninsula.
The US government is concerned about Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s threat to supply Russian weapons to North Korea in response to arms deliveries to Ukraine. “That would destabilize the Korean peninsula,” warned US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Depending on the type of weapon, it would also violate UN resolutions that Russia itself supported. The US is continuing to work with South Korea, Japan and other allies to respond to the threat from North Korea.
The South Korean government had previously condemned a new agreement on a strategic partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang as a violation of UN sanctions and indicated that it would reconsider its previously negative stance on arms deliveries to Kiev. When asked by a journalist whether this could have a destabilizing effect on the Indo-Pacific, US Department of State spokesman Miller said: “We welcome any support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. But ultimately it is South Korea’s decision.”
Putin, who was received in Pyongyang this week and then traveled on to Vietnam, had announced severe consequences in such a case, “which the current leadership of South Korea will hardly like.”
Retaliation for arms deliveries to Kyiv
With regard to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, Russia’s president threatened to deliver precision weapons to North Korea. The West is acting as if it is not fighting with Russia despite its arms deliveries. It allegedly does not control the use of its weapons by Kiev. In return, however, Russia can also ship its military equipment to other regions of the world and not worry about how it is used, Putin said.
North Korea, ruled by Kim Jong Un, is subject to far-reaching UN sanctions and import bans because of its nuclear weapons program, which also affect the trade in weapons and the transfer of military technology to the country. During his state visit to Pyongyang, Putin signed a new partnership agreement with Kim on Wednesday, which also provides for mutual assistance in the event of war.