Putin Says "Will Help Develop North Korea's Satellite"... Will North Korea's ICBM Technology Advance?

Kim Jong-dae "ICBM Core Technology Cycle is Difficult"
Rankov Professor "This is a Political Show"
Seong Il-jong "K-Defense Weapons Should Be Supported to Ukraine"

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who held a summit with Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, has stated that he will "help North Korea develop artificial satellites," raising concerns about the advancement of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities. However, experts believe that the cooperation will remain at a fundamental level and is more of a 'bluffing' card aimed at pressuring South Korea and the United States. In political circles, voices are also emerging calling for lethal weapons to be supplied to Ukraine to pressure Russia in return.

On the 14th, Professor Shin Beom-sik of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "There are technologies related to launch vehicles and satellite manufacturing involved in the development of space satellites between North Korea and Russia, and they have confirmed these principles for comprehensive cooperation." He added, "It will take some time to reach the stage of missile technology transfer, and such stages will be set."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, after the summit with General Secretary Kim, President Putin responded to a reporter's question about whether Russia would help North Korea produce artificial satellites by saying, "That is why I came here." Since satellite technology is almost identical to ICBM production technology, there are concerns that Russian support could lead to the advancement of North Korea's ICBM capabilities.

However, Professor Shin said, "A recent Kremlin statement mentioned that 'there is room for cooperation within the bounds of international laws and situations without significantly violating international law.'" He added, "Judging from such expressions, it clearly does not mean unlimited and reckless close cooperation that would terrorize the international community." He also pointed out that Russia is cautious about technology transfer to the extent that it does not even provide advanced technology to China.

Former lawmaker and diplomatic expert Kim Jong-dae also said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "There is a reason why satellites are emphasized this time. It is difficult to provide North Korea with core ICBM technologies such as rocket technology or warhead re-entry technology, or related subsidiary technologies." He added, "They may cooperate in some ways, but they cannot cooperate in violation of nuclear non-proliferation norms. The maximum standard they presented is that they can help develop rocket payloads, which are military satellites."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There is also an opinion that Russia's open declaration of providing satellite technology to North Korea is a 'political show.' Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert and professor at the College of Liberal Arts at Kookmin University, said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "There has been much talk about missile and satellite technology transfer, but personally, I am not sure how much of this can be believed." He added, "The summit between the two leaders took place at a space base, and they have been actively hinting at military technology, but since they are emphasizing this so strongly, suspicion is inevitable."

The purpose of this 'political show' is explained as an attempt to block South Korea's weapons support to Ukraine. He said, "Isn't this a political show? A theater performed so that people in Seoul can see it? From Russia's perspective, it is much more important to prevent Ukraine from receiving shells from South Korea than to receive shells from North Korea."

In political circles, voices are also calling for lethal weapons to be supplied to Ukraine to pressure Russia in return. Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party, said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "What North Korea needs are advanced technologies such as nuclear submarine technology and space rocket launch technology, and our government must control this." He added, "We have many advanced weapons in K-defense industry, and if we support Ukraine with these weapons, Russia could suffer a significant blow."

Ha Tae-kyung, also a member of the People Power Party, said on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' "South Korea should now support Ukraine with weapons," adding, "This is necessary to prevent Russia from providing more support to North Korea. We need to let them know that 'If you help North Korea enhance its actual attack capabilities, we will have no choice but to hurt Russia as well.'"

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