Putin's N. Korea Deals: Missile Intrigue
Putin's N. Korea Deals: Missile Intrigue
Russia-N.Korea agreements for Putin's visit, U.S. diplomat said 9 missile attacks on Ukraine supplied by North Korea, sanctions on Russian entities linked to missile transfer
UPDATES: Russia and North Korea are working on a "very good" package of agreements to be signed when President Vladimir Putin visits Pyongyang, Russia's envoy to North Korea told the Russian TASS state news agency in remarks published on Wednesday.
Russia has attacked Ukraine at least nine times with ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea, a U.S. diplomat said, highlighting concerns over the growing military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The United States has imposed sanctions on three Russian entities and one individual allegedly involved in the transfer and testing of North Korea’s ballistic missiles for alleged use by Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
Photo: Reuters
'Very good' deals worked on for Putin's visit to N. Korea -Russian envoy
By Reuters
Feb 6 (Reuters) - Russia and North Korea are working on a "very good" package of agreements to be signed when President Vladimir Putin visits Pyongyang, Russia's envoy to North Korea told the Russian TASS state news agency in remarks published on Wednesday.
Putin last year accepted Kim Jong Un's invitation to visit North Korea, and the Kremlin said last month that timing for the visit, which would be the Russian leader's first in nearly quarter a century, had not been set.
"There has been no discussion yet about the timing of the visit," TASS cited the ambassador, Alexander Matsegora, as saying. "Its preparation is now limited only to work on joint documents that are planned to be signed during the visit. I think that this will be a very good package."
Aside from agreements on making tourism travel between the two countries easier, Matsegora did not reveal any details.
Russia's steps towards closer ties with North Korea after Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have met with warnings from the United States of "growing and dangerous", opens new tab military cooperation between the two.
To keep up the intensity of its attacks on Ukraine, Moscow has turned to Pyongyang and Iran for weapons, including drones and missiles, Washington has said.
On Tuesday, the deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, told a U.N. Security Council meeting that Russia has launched North Korea-supplied ballistic missiles against Ukraine at least nine times.
Both Russia and North Korea have denied the U.S. accusations. Moscow says it will develop ties with whatever countries it wants and that its cooperation with Pyongyang does not contravene international agreements.
"I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think that the current year will be a breakthrough in Russian-Korean relations in many respects," Matsegora said.
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U.S. diplomat: Russia has launched North Korean missiles at least 9 times in Ukraine
Russia has attacked Ukraine at least nine times with ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea, a U.S. diplomat said, highlighting concerns over the growing military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood made the claim during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine held Tuesday.
"To date, Russia has launched DPRK-supplied ballistic missiles against Ukraine on at least nine occasions," Wood said.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
"Russia and the DPRK must be held accountable for their actions, which undermine longstanding obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions," he said.
Washington and its allies have said that North Korea is supplying artillery and equipment to Russia for its attacks on Ukraine, while Pyongyang is believed to be receiving advanced technology for its space and missile programs in return.
"These unlawful arms transfers and potential technology transfers from Russia to the DPRK undermine regional stability and the global nonproliferation regime, as well as the Security Council's credibility," Wood said.
Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the accusations, but have grown closer over the past several months, with numerous high-level exchanges, including a rare overseas visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia in September.
Russia called for the Security Council meeting after it claimed that a Ukrainian missile strike last week killed 28 civilians in Lysychansk, a Russian-occupied town in eastern Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's U.N. ambassador, said during the meeting that it was "quite obvious" that Washington was involved in the attack by supplying weapons systems and targeting information.
Nebenzia also said the United States bore culpability for the downing of a Russian military aircraft on Jan. 24 that left 74 dead, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
"Today we have irrefutable evidence that a Patriot missile system was used in the strike, which leaves no doubt that Washington is a direct accomplice in this crime," he said.
Senior Ukrainian diplomat to the United Nations Serhii Dvornyk said during Tuesday's session that Russia was misusing the Security Council platform to spread false allegations.
"The boundless cynicism of this regime that persists in inventing new allegations against the country it has fiercely attacked is astounding," Dvornyk said.
"As soon as Russia's bloody war is over, there will be no more human suffering and nor more civilian casualties in Europe," he added.
The United Nations has confirmed 10,382 civilian deaths, including 579 children, and 19,659 civilians injured in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.
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US imposes sanctions over transfer of North Korean missiles to Russia
By Aljazeera
The United States has imposed sanctions on three Russian entities and one individual allegedly involved in the transfer and testing of North Korea’s ballistic missiles for alleged use by Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
The move comes after Washington and its allies criticised the exchange of arms between North Korea and Russia. The US government denounced Russia’s acquisition of North Korean ballistic missiles and specified they were deployed against Ukraine on December 30 and January 2.
“The DPRK’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia supports Russia’s war of aggression, increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and undermines the global nonproliferation regime,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Thursday, using the official acronym for North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“We will not hesitate to take further actions,” he said.
Since the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Moscow and Pyongyang have developed closer ties but have denied engaging in any arms deals.
In September, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s Far East. High-ranking Russian officials have undertaken multiple visits to Pyongyang.
Last week, the White House said Russia had used short-range ballistic missiles sourced from North Korea to conduct multiple strikes against Ukraine, citing newly declassified intelligence that was subsequently corroborated by a senior Ukrainian official.
North Korea has been under a United Nations arms embargo since it first tested a nuclear bomb in 2006.
UN Security Council resolutions, approved with Russian support, ban countries from trading weapons or other military equipment with North Korea.
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