The White House says that North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine. Speculation about a possible North Korean plan to refill Russia’s munition stores drained in its protracted war with Ukraine flared last month, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin and visit key military sites.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said on Friday that North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the U.S. believes Kim is seeking sophisticated Russian weapons technologies in return for the munitions to boost North Korea’s military and nuclear program.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, last week published satellite photos that showed a sharp increase in rail traffic along the North Korea-Russia border,
During Kim’s six-day trip to Russia, his longest foreign travel as a leader, the two countries said they discussed boosting their defense ties but didn’t disclose any specific steps.
Foreign experts speculate the two countries, both locked in confrontations with the West, were pushing to reach arms transfer deals in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in the Middle East to consult with allies in the aftermath of last week’s Hamas attack on Israel, spoke by phone on Friday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
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