North Korea’s Kim Jong Un vowed “full and unconditional support” for Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as the two leaders isolated by the West held a summit that the U.S. warned could lead to a deal to supply ammunition for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Putin Talks Military Cooperation with Kim as North Korean
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un vowed “full and unconditional support” for Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as the two leaders isolated by the West held a summit that the U.S. warned could lead to a deal to supply ammunition for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The meeting, which lasted over four hours at Russia’s spaceport in the Far East, underscores how the two countries’ interests are aligning: Putin is believed to be seeking one of the few things impoverished North Korea has in abundance — stockpiles of aging ammunition and rockets for Soviet-era weapons.
Russia and North Korea have “lots of interesting projects” in spheres like transportation and agriculture, Putin said. Moscow is providing its neighbor with humanitarian aid, but there also are opportunities for “working as equals“.
Such a request would mark a role reversal from the 1950-53 Korean War, when Moscow gave weapons to support Pyongyang’s invasion of South Korea – and in the decades that followed, when the Soviet Union sponsored North Korea.
Both sides also agreed to further strengthen strategic and tactical cooperation in the face of the “military threats, provocations, and tyranny of imperialists”.
“At the end of the reception, Kim Jong Un courteously invited Putin to visit the DPRK at a convenient time. Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure and reaffirmed his will to invariably carry forward the history and tradition of the Russia-DPRK friendship,” the state media said.
“Won’t hesitate to impose additional..:” US warns Russia, N Korea of more sanctions over arms deal
The United States has warned of more sanctions on Russia and North Korea as Kim Jong Un arrived in Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin recently, giving rise to the concerns of a possible arms deal between the two countries, which has remained the talk of the town for quite sometime now.
The United States and South Korean officials have expressed concern that North Korea could provide weapons and ammunition to Russia amid the war in Ukraine – especially after the Kremlin gave numerous hints that the two leaders discussed military cooperation, but did not disclose details.
