White House states Russia-North Korea arms negotiations making promising progress

Washington — The White House announced on Wednesday that it has obtained new intelligence indicating that Russia and North Korea are actively engaged in high-level discussions to enhance President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, both Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged letters expressing their commitment to increasing cooperation. This development follows Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s recent visit to Pyongyang, where he aimed to persuade the isolated regime to sell artillery ammunition to Russia.

Kirby revealed that after Shoigu’s visit, another group of Russian officials traveled to Pyongyang for further talks on arms deals.

“Following these negotiations, there is a possibility of continued high-level discussions in the coming months,” stated Kirby, while refraining from disclosing the source of the intelligence.

As part of the potential agreements, North Korea intends to provide Russia with significant quantities and various types of weapons to be used in Ukraine, he added.

“Any arms deal between the DPRK and Russia would directly violate several U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Kirby emphasized, using the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “We are closely monitoring the situation and urge the DPRK to cease its arms negotiations with Russia, adhering to the public commitments made by Pyongyang to refrain from providing or selling arms to Russia.”

U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield echoed similar sentiments at the U.N. headquarters on Wednesday.

“We cannot and will not remain silent as we receive further information that Russia continues to seek weapons and equipment from rogue regimes to support its aggressive war,” she declared.

Gabrielle Ake and Pamela Falk contributed to this report.