US Concerned Over Possible North Korea Weapons Transfer to Russia

People watch a TV showing an image of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on July 28, 2022. Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo

The United States has voiced concern about the potential transfer by North Korea of additional weapons to Russia as the communist state’s leader vowed “full support” for Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed that North Korea delivered infantry rockets and missiles to the Russian private military firm Wagner Group in November 2022, even as North Korea denied the assertion.

“We are concerned that the DPRK is planning to deliver more military equipment to Russia,” the spokesperson said on June 12, referring to North Korea by its official name: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The remarks were made on the same day that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to seek “closer strategic cooperation” with Russia, in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Russia’s National Day, expressing his willingness to cooperate with Russia in achieving “the grand goal of building a powerful country,” KCNA reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Far Eastern Federal University campus on Russky Island in the Russian port of Vladivostok on April 25, 2019. Alexey Nikolsky/ AFP via Getty Images

It remains unclear how many weapons Wagner Group received from North Korea. In December 2022, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the weapon transfer “will not change the battlefield dynamics in Ukraine.”

North Korea and Wagner have both denied the U.S. claims.

However, Kirby said on Jan. 20 that evidence suggested that North Korea supplied weapons to Wagner, pointing to images allegedly showing Russian railcars traveling to North Korea in November 2022.

“We obviously condemn North Korea’s actions, and we urge North Korea to cease these deliveries to Wagner immediately,” Kirby said.

Weapons-for-Food Deal

In March, the White House claimed that it obtained new information that Russia was planning to send a delegation to North Korea for talks to buy more weapons in exchange for food aid.

“As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang,” Kirby told reporters on March 30, referring to the capital city of North Korea.

North Korea has been grappling with food shortages for years. South Korea had previously offered North Korea economic benefits in exchange for denuclearization steps, but Kim rejected the offer.

Russia Restarts Oil Shipments

U.N. Security Council (UNSC) data show that Russia delivered 3,225 barrels of refined oil to North Korea in December 2022, the first since Russia’s previous shipment in September 2020.

Russian oil shipments to North Korea peaked at 44,655 barrels in January before drastically declining to just 3,612 barrels in April, the U.N. data show.

Russia’s resumption of oil shipments to North Korea could be part of an exchange arrangement between the two countries, Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst, told Radio Free Asia.

“I would guess that [the oil shipments] may be Russia fulfilling its end of the deal in exchange for North Korea providing weapons and lethal aid to the Russian troops in the ongoing war with Ukraine.”

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Russia’s reliance on North Korea is a sign of “desperation and isolation” amid Western sanctions on Russia, which is a permanent member of the UNSC.

“This is a clear breach of U.N. Security Council Resolutions,” Cleverly said on Dec. 20, 2022. “We will work with our partners to ensure that North Korea pays a high price for supporting Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.”

The U.N. has imposed a series of sanctions against North Korea since 2006 related to the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile aspirations. In 2017, the UNSC capped North Korean imports of refined petroleum products at 500,000 barrels per year.