The Biden administration said Monday that Russia's deepening military alliance with North Korea is of "great concern."
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Pyongyang on Tuesday for the first time since 2000 and meet with dictator Kim Jong Un for talks focused on expanding military cooperation between the countries. North Korea has reportedly sent more than 11,000 containers of conventional weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, and the White House has said Russia has been using ballistic missiles produced in North Korea.
North Korea reportedly in return has been seeking fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, and equipment to produce ballistic missiles from Russia.
"We believe that deepening cooperation between Russia and the DPRK is something that should be of great concern to anyone that is interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, upholding the global nonproliferation regime, abiding by U.N. Security Council resolutions, and of course, supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom against Russia's invasion," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said during Monday's press briefing. "It's not just the United States. We've seen other countries express concern about this deepening security partnership."
DPRK stands for Communist North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"We have seen, over the past few months, the DPRK unlawfully transfer dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000 containers of munitions to aid Russia's war effort," Miller said. "We have seen those munitions show up on the battlefield in Ukraine. We know that they are using DPRK ammunition to threaten Ukraine and kill Ukrainians. We will continue to make clear our concerns.
"We don't believe any country should support this deepening relationship, and we will continue to call for Russia to respect all U.N. Security Council resolutions with respect to nonproliferation, including ones that they voted for."
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby echoed Miller's comments.
"We're not concerned about the trip," Kirby said at Monday's White House press briefing. "What we are concerned about is the deepening relationship between these two countries. Not just because of the impact it is going to have on the Ukrainian people because we know North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to hit Ukrainian targets.
"But because there could be some reciprocity here that could affect security on the Korean Peninsula. We haven't seen the parameters of all that right now — we certainly haven't seen it come to fruition — but we're certainly going to be watching that very, very closely."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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