(Moscow) The Kremlin assured Friday that “no agreement” had been signed during the visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Russia, a source of fear on the part of the West, who suspect Moscow of wanting to buy arms to Pyongyang for the conflict in Ukraine.
“No agreement has been signed and there were no plans to sign one,” Dmitri Peskov, the spokesperson for the Russian presidency, told journalists when asked about the conclusion of a contract, whether military or other type.
Beyond the weapons it could potentially provide to Russia, North Korea is also suspected of wanting to acquire technologies for its nuclear and missile programs.
During their meeting on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un gave each other a rifle, gifts seen as symbolic given Western fears.
The two men displayed their closeness, Kim Jong-un ensuring that rapprochement with Moscow was an “absolute priority” of foreign policy, while Mr. Putin praised the “strengthening” of their cooperation.
The Russian head of state notably mentioned “prospects” of military cooperation despite international sanctions targeting Pyongyang because of its nuclear and missile development programs.
Washington had expressed “concern” about the possible purchase of North Korean munitions, and Seoul had “firmly warned” against any transaction of this type.
Visit to aeronautical factories
On Friday, Kim Jong-un continued his stay which began on Tuesday, his first trip abroad since the COVID-19 pandemic, by visiting aeronautical factories in the Russian Far East.
Kim Jong-un notably went to the one bearing the name of Yuri Gagarin which his father, former President Kim Jong-il, had already seen in 2002, according to the Russian government.
The North Korean number one, accompanied by Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Industry Denis Manturov, was able to inspect production facilities for combat aircraft as well as civil transport from the manufacturer Sukhoi, before attending a demonstration in flight of an Su-35 fighter.
“We see the potential for cooperation both in the field of aircraft manufacturing and in other sectors,” the Russian minister said, according to the press release.
Mr. Putin said that Kim Jong-un was also due to go to Vladivostok, a large city located near the Chinese and North Korean borders, in particular to attend a military “demonstration” of the Russian Pacific Fleet.
“Direct violation”
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un should meet again soon, the Russian president having accepted “with pleasure” his counterpart’s invitation to visit North Korea, according to Dmitri Peskov.
However, no date has been communicated.
On Thursday, the White House said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed the Putin-Kim meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts.
“They stressed that any arms export […] would be a direct violation of several United Nations Security Council resolutions,” we read in a press release.
“If North Korea were to reach any agreement regarding the arms trade […] with Russia”, this “would seriously threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula”, reacted Friday the South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Park Jin, quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
Asked whether additional sanctions might be imposed, Mr. Park simply added: “We are considering all possible options.”
After turning to Iran to deliver hundreds of explosive drones, Russia could find useful resources in Pyongyang, which has large stockpiles of Soviet equipment and mass produces conventional weapons.
The 122 mm caliber rockets intended for the BM-21 “Grad” multiple launch rockets (MLRS) from the USSR era, which equip Russian forces in Ukraine and appear in the North Korean arsenal, are particularly susceptible to interest Russia.
In exchange, Pyongyang could be provided with Russian oil and food goods, and even access to space technologies.
Moscow has discussed possible aid in the manufacture of satellites, after the failure of two recent attempts by North Korea to place a military spy satellite in orbit, but has also proposed sending a North Korean cosmonaut into space , wrote Russian news agencies, which would constitute a first for this country.