Kim Jong-un-Putin Summit Soon... South Korea-US to Respond Strongly to Arms Deals

North Korea Announces Kim Jong-un's Arrival in Russia... Summit Expected Today
Kim Jong-un "Clearly Expresses Strategic Importance of North Korea-Russia Relations"
South Korea and U.S. Warn of 'Appropriate Measures' if Security Council Resolution Violated

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold a summit as early as the 13th. South Korea and the United States plan to respond strongly if North Korea and Russia engage in a 'dangerous deal' violating United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim's special train entered the Hasan Station premises around 6 a.m. the previous day. During a reception and subsequent talks with the Russian side in the lounge, Chairman Kim said, "I am pleased to visit Rossiya (Russia) again after four years since 2019," adding, "This first overseas visit since the global public health crisis and the journey to the Russian Federation clearly expresses our Party and government's emphasis on the strategic importance of Korea-Russia relations."

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiling while receiving a welcome greeting after arriving at Hasan Station in Russia's Primorsky Krai
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Kim and President Putin are expected to hold a summit as early as today. The two leaders previously held their first summit in Vladivostok in April 2019. The likely venue for this summit is the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast, Russia's Far East. This is a state-of-the-art facility that began full-scale operations with its first satellite launch in April 2016 and is an important site for Russia, which aims to regain its status as a 'space power' from the Soviet era. If the summit is held here, it is interpreted as symbolizing an expansion of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia through arms deals. Since North Korea has focused on developing nuclear weapons and missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), receiving military technology such as reconnaissance satellites would make this location the best place to showcase such advancements.

The two leaders are expected to discuss arms deals in earnest during this summit. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the day before, "If necessary, we are ready to discuss UN sanctions on North Korea with our comrades from North Korea," openly suggesting the possibility of violating UNSC resolutions. If Russia provides North Korea with advanced military technologies such as military reconnaissance satellites and submarines, North Korea might reciprocate by supplying Russia with conventional weapons like artillery shells or rifles. This aligns with the interests of North Korea, which needs a way out amid prolonged sanctions, and Russia, which faces shortages of war materials due to its invasion of Ukraine. However, both technology transfers and North Korea's arms deals and labor provision violate UNSC sanctions on North Korea.

North Korea's Kim Jong-un visits Russia for the first time in 4 years
[Image source=Yonhap News]

South Korea and the United States have stated they will respond firmly if North Korea and Russia proceed with arms deals. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasized in a briefing the day before that "North Korea providing weapons to Russia is a violation of multiple UN resolutions," adding, "We will not hesitate to take measures to hold them accountable if necessary."

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves plans to visit South Korea next week to discuss responses regarding any agreements on arms and material support between North Korea and Russia. The South Korean government is also reported to have established a plan to respond immediately if any UNSC resolution violations are found in the talks between the two countries. Specific measures under consideration include additional unilateral sanctions to further pressure North Korea.

Meanwhile, South Korea and the United States are expected to visit the Navy 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, coinciding with the Expanded Deterrence Strategy Committee (EDSCG) meeting on the 15th. In particular, after the EDSCG, there are reports that an inspection schedule is being considered for the hull of the ROKS Cheonan, which was attacked by a North Korean torpedo in 2010.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.