North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un plans to travel to Russia this month to meet with President Vladimir Putin to discuss arms supplies to Moscow in its war with Ukraine, US government officials were quoted as saying by ‘The New York Times’ . When questioned about this information, the Kremlin chose to remain silent. Meanwhile, in Cuba, the authorities announced that they had detected a human trafficking network to recruit them as mercenaries in the Russian invasion.
Arms negotiations between North Korea and Russia are actively advancing. This was stated by the spokeswoman for the National Security Council of the United States, Adrienne Watson.
“We have information that Kim Jong-Un expects these discussions to continue to include leadership-level diplomatic engagement in Russia,” Watson said in a statement.
His statements came after the newspaper ‘The New York Times’, which cited Joe Biden government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that North Korean leader Kim Jon-Un plans to travel to Vladivostok, on the coast of the Pacific of Russia, to meet with President Putin.
Precisely, the meeting, which would take place this month, aims to address possible arms supplies from Pyongyang to Moscow for use in the war it is waging in Ukraine for more than a year and a half.
The talks would revolve around the delivery of artillery shells and anti-tank missiles in exchange for Russia’s advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarinesreported ‘The New York Times’.
Breaking News: Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, will visit President Vladimir Putin in Russia to discuss supplying North Korean weaponry for the Ukraine war.https://t.co/huREAslBDR
—The New York Times (@nytimes) September 4, 2023
However, when questioned about the issue, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, did not confirm or deny the information about an upcoming meeting between the leaders of the two nuclear powers. “There is nothing to say,” Peskov simply replied.
Moscow and Pyongyang have denied earlier claims by Washington that North Korea had provided weapons to Russia.
On August 30, White House national security spokesman John Kirby stressed that his government is concerned that arms negotiations between the nations led by Kim and Putin were advancing.
If it takes place, Kim’s trip would be his first abroad in more than four years. Usually, the North Korean leader’s visits to other countries are surrounded by secrecy and robust security measures.
Russia, North Korea vow to boost defense cooperation
Although the two sides deny specific information about the exchange of weapons and nuclear technology, the news of the possible visit by Kim comes after Russia will report that it is discussing military exercises with North Korea.
“Why not, these are our neighbors. There is an old Russian saying: you do not choose your neighbors and it is better to live with your neighbors in peace and harmony,” said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, quoted by the state news agency. Interfax, on Monday, September 4.
It’s a stance that raises US concerns about growing military ties between two of the West’s main adversaries.
And it is that as Russia’s isolation increases, amid sanctions for ordering the invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin sees increasing value in North Korea.
While their relations have not been as close in recent years as they were during the heyday of the defunct Soviet Union, Pyongyang now reaps clear benefits from Moscow’s need to forge and maintain allies.
As a sign of this, Russia has joined China in opposing new sanctions against North Korea, blocking a US-led initiative and publicly dividing the UN Security Council for the first time since it began punishing Pyongyang in 2006.
Amid further outreach, Shoigu visited Pyongyang last July to attend weapons shows that included banned ballistic missiles.
“Just as you can tell a person by his friends, you can tell a country by the companies it keeps (…) In the case of Russia, that company is now largely made up of other rogue states,” Keir Giles said. , Senior Consultant to the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House.
Now, Kim is likely to want to emphasize a sense of support for Russia and thus seek deals on arms sales, aid and sending workers to Russia, Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Kookmin University, said in an interview with Reuters. .
Cuba affirms that it detected a network that trafficked people to fight in Ukraine
The statement came from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, September 4. According to the announcement, the island’s authorities uncovered a people-smuggling ring forcing its citizens to fight on behalf of Russia in the ongoing war on Ukrainian soil.
Havana indicated that the network operated both in the Caribbean country and from Russian territory. After the findings, the Foreign Ministry indicated, the Cuban authorities are working to dismantle that organization and “criminal proceedings have been initiated against the people involved in these activities.”
“The Ministry of the Interior is working on the neutralization and dismantling of a human trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens residing there, and even some in Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine” , added the communiqué of the Cuban government.
⚡️#Cuba has uncovered a human trafficking network in Russia that illegally recruits Cubans living there to participate in the war against Ukraine.
“Attempts of this nature have been neutralised, and criminal proceedings have been initiated against persons involved in these… pic.twitter.com/OFAKixn9dx
—KyivPost (@KyivPost) September 5, 2023
The Administration of Miguel Díaz-Canel released this information after a Russian newspaper in the city of Ryazan published last May that several Cuban citizens signed contracts with the Moscow Armed Forces and were sent to Ukraine in exchange for obtaining citizenship. Russian.
However, the island’s Foreign Ministry did not specify if its information is related to what was previously released by the Russian press.
Although Russia and Cuba maintain strong political, diplomatic and economic ties, among others, the Government of the Caribbean country denies any participation in the conflict.
“Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine (…) It is acting and will act energetically against anyone who participates in any form of human trafficking in order to recruit Cuban citizens as mercenaries to use weapons against any country,” the Ministry remarked. of Foreign Affairs.
For years, Russia has been a top destination for Cubans seeking to escape economic stagnation at home. In addition, earlier this year, the defense ministries of the two nations discussed the development of joint “technical-military” projects, but Havana insists that it remains out of the biggest conflict on European soil in recent decades.
With Reuters, AP and local media
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