War in Ukraine: Kim Jong Un would like to meet Putin to discuss arms delivery

2023-09-04 22:52:35

Kim Jong Un very rarely leaves his country. And yet, the North Korean leader wants to visit Russia in September, according to the New York Times. On the menu: “a diplomatic exchange at the highest level” with Vladimir Putin to discuss the sale of arms to Moscow, the White House said on Monday.

“As we have said publicly before, arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are actively progressing,” said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. “We know that Kim Jong Un wants these negotiations to continue, including a diplomatic exchange at the highest level in Russia,” she added.

Development cooperation

This meeting would take place when Moscow and Pyongyang advocated increased cooperation in August, particularly in the field of defence. “I am confident that we will continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation in all fields for the benefit of our peoples and in the interest of enhancing stability and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Northeast Asian region. Is in general,” Vladimir Putin said at the time.

Since the launch of its offensive in Ukraine, Russia has made a rapprochement with Pyongyang, an ally of the USSR during the Cold War. This was illustrated by the visit to North Korea, at the end of July, of the Russian Minister of Defence, Sergei Shoigu, who qualified this country as an “important partner”. The United States suspects Moscow of seeking to obtain arms from its North Korean ally.

The United States has claimed that Russia would be in violation of UN resolutions if it enters into an arms deal with North Korea. “Any kind of security cooperation or arms deal between North Korea and Russia would undoubtedly violate a series of UN Security Council resolutions,” the Department of Defense spokesman said in mid-August. State, Vedant Patel. Pyongyang has always denied sending weapons to Russia.