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The White House has warned of “actively advancing” arms talks between Russia and North Korea after Vladimir Putin’s defence chief travelled to Pyongyang on a mission to secure ammunition for the invasion of Ukraine.
Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s minister of defence, was last month dispatched on the diplomatic mission to secure artillery munitions and an agreement to deepen military co-operation.
According to a US intelligence assessment made public by National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Wednesday, those talks have progressed to a new phase.
After the visit, Putin, Russia’s president, and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, exchanged letters “pledging to increase bilateral co-operation”, Kirby said, and another group of Russian officials also travelled to Pyongyang for follow-on discussions about an arms deal.
Russia is trying to secure supplies of ammunition as it fights to preserve territorial gains from a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Kirby said, while also seeking raw materials for its defence industrial base.
Kirby added: “What we’re seeing in this counteroffensive is it’s a gunfight and both sides are blazing away with artillery, so we know that artillery is one of [Russia’s requests].” Russia is also seeking other weaponry, he said.
The warning comes after Washington previously alleged that North Korea had delivered infantry rockets and missiles to Russia late last year for use by the Wagner Group, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was recently killed in a plane crash.
The US has also alleged Moscow and Pyongyang are negotiating a deal whereby Russia would receive weapons in exchange for sending food and other commodities to North Korea. However, Kirby said the potential ammunition deal was separate.
Kim has sought to bolster ties with Putin since he invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Russia has stepped up shipments of grain to North Korea this year amid widespread reports of food shortages that worsened after Kim sealed the country’s borders in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In November, the eastern Russian region of Primorsky Krai announced rail trade between the two countries had commenced for the first time in three years.
In response to the growing military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, the US has imposed sanctions and export controls on individuals and entities tied to arms trading between the two countries.
Kirby said: “Export controls and sanctions are very much targeted at trying to eliminate Russia’s ability to have those kinds of raw materials and basic ingredients to provide to their military manufacturing capability.”
He added: “We urge the [North Korea] to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia.”
