Putin hails North Korea’s support for Ukraine war
US concern
Pyongyang has described allegations of supplying weapons to Russia as “absurd”. However, it did thank Russia for using its UN veto in March to effectively end monitoring of sanctions violations just as UN experts were starting to probe alleged arms transfers. The United States voiced “concern” Monday about Putin’s trip because of the security implications for South Korea as well as Ukraine. The two Koreas have remained technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict and the border dividing them is one of the most heavily fortified in the world. “We know North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to hit Ukrainian targets (and) there could be some reciprocity here that could affect security on the Korean peninsula,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Highlighting those security concerns, South Korea said its troops fired warning shots at soldiers from the North who briefly crossed the border Tuesday and then retreated. The South’s military said it believed the North Korean soldiers accidentally crossed as they were fortifying the border, but said some of them were wounded after detonating landmines.‘Lonely bromance’
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Putin’s trip showed how he was “dependent” on authoritarian leaders. “Their closest friends and the biggest supporters of the Russian war effort — war of aggression — (are) North Korea, Iran and China,” Stoltenberg said. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the international community to counter “the lonely bromance” between Putin and Kim by increasing arms supplies to Kyiv. “The best way to respond to it is to continue strengthening the diplomatic coalition for just and lasting peace in Ukraine and delivering more Patriots and ammunition to Ukraine,” Kuleba told AFP. North Korea is eager for high-end military technology to advance its nuclear, missile, satellite and nuclear-powered submarine programmes, according to experts. The Kremlin released a document on Tuesday confirming that Russia plans to sign a “strategic partnership” treaty with North Korea. Given North Korea’s chronic resource shortages, Pyongyang is expected to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in areas such as tourism, agriculture and mining, “in exchange for providing military supplies” to Russia, a report from the Seoul-based Institute for National Security Strategy said. Other issues including “cooperation on the deployment of North Korean workers or the supply of energy to North Korea — both of which would violate sanctions… are also likely to be discussed” behind the scenes, INSS researcher Kim Sung-bae wrote.
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