The probable alliance between Russia and North Korea for the exchange of weapons and nuclear technology, in the midst of the unusual visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to Russia, led several governments on September 14 to issue strong warnings to both countries. South Korea, the United States and Japan announced that any agreement on this matter between Moscow and Pyongyang will have a cost. The European Union, for its part, warned the Kim regime that it would face new sanctions.
A disturbing cooperation that could impact the war in Ukraine and global security.
Although little has emerged from the second day of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s visit to Russia this Thursday, September 14, the concerns in Western nations are evident.
Washington warned that the meeting between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday could lead to a deal for Pyongyang to supply munitions for Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
In Seoul, there is also widespread concern that North Korea receives advanced weapons technologies from Russia in exchangeincluding those related to military spy satellites, which would increase the threat posed by Kim’s military nuclear program.
“We express our deep concern and regret that, despite repeated warnings from the international community, North Korea and Russia discussed issues of military cooperation, including satellite development, during their summit,” said Lim Soo-suk, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea.
Officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan, countries that are continually on alert for Pyongyang’s missile launches, with which it has threatened the three territories, warned that any pact with Moscow for arms trade will have a cost. , although they did not specify the actions they would take.
“Any scientific and technological cooperation that contributes to the development of nuclear weapons and missiles, including satellite systems involving ballistic missile technologies, goes against UN Security Council resolutions,” Lim Soo-suk stressed during a session informative this Thursday.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also noted Wednesday that North Korea would face consequences if it supplies weapons to Russia.
“No nation on the planet, no one, should help Mr. Putin kill innocent Ukrainians,” Kirby said. If the countries decide to move forward with an arms deal, the United States will take action and “address it appropriately,” he added.
EU warns of more sanctions against Pyongyang
Warnings also came in the last hours from Brussels. The European Commission warned North Korea of new sanctions if it supplies weapons to Russia to support Putin in the biggest conflict on European soil in decades.
“Any type of military support from North Korea to Russia will have an appropriate response (…) One of them is crushing his nation and the other is sending his people to a senseless death, within the framework of the illegal war against Ukraine ”, stressed the Foreign Affairs spokesperson of the community Executive, Peter Stano.
The official noted that the European Union has already imposed sanctions against Iran for supplying drones to the Kremlin for what it calls a “special military operation” to “denazify” Kiev. The hostilities in more than 18 months of invasion leave thousands of people dead, millions displaced and constant violations of Human Rights.
Moscow and Pyongyang have neither confirmed nor denied the information about a pact for the exchange of weapons and nuclear technology, as Washington warns, but in their meeting on Wednesday they expressed strong indications.
Kim openly backed Putin’s war, calling it a “fight against imperialism,” while the Kremlin leader signaled that he is willing to help Pyongyang develop its satellite program. “That’s why we came here,” Putin responded when he was questioned by the Russian press about it.
His remarks came after North Korea twice failed to launch reconnaissance satellites in the past four months.
The site chosen for the meeting also sends a message: the Vostochny cosmodrome, in the Amureste region of Siberia, is a symbol of Russia’s ambitions as a space power.
Putin accepts Kim’s invitation to visit North Korea
The world has relied heavily on Russian and North Korean media for information about the North Korean leader’s visit to Russia, and a day after intense coverage of his meeting with Putin, the press of the two nations has remained silent about his activities.
However, The Kremlin indicated this Thursday that the Russian president agreed to visit North Korea.
“Kim Jong-Un invited Putin to visit North Korea (and) Putin gratefully accepted this invitation (…) These high-level contacts were very, very constructive. North Korea is our neighbor and, like other neighbors, Russia “intends to build and develop good relations and mutually beneficial cooperation, based on mutual respect,” said Russian Presidency spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Additionally, Peskov noted that he hopes Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Pyongyang next month.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was expected to visit a Russian plant that manufactures fighter jets and the country’s Pacific Fleet on September 14, but his exact whereabouts remain uncertain, following the summit in which he expressed his unconditional support for Moscow.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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