United States: A White House official has stated that North Korea will pay “a price” if it sells arms to Russia for its war in Ukraine. The statement comes after Washington warned that Pyongyang was in talks with Moscow about a potential arms deal. US National Security Adviser Mr. Jake Sullivan remarked that the United States believes the negotiations between North Korea and Russia are “actively advancing.”
“Providing weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield to attack grain silos and the heating infrastructure of major cities as we head into winter, to try to conquer territory that belongs to a modern sovereign nation—this is not going to reflect well on North Korea, and they will pay a price for this in the international community,” Mr. Sullivan told reporters. The comments came after another official in US President Mr. Joe Biden’s administration stated that Washington expected North Korean leader Mr. Kim Jong Un to hold a meeting with Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin.
In recent weeks, there have been public signs of closer ties between Russia and North Korea. Russia’s Defence Minister Mr. Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea and met with Mr. Kim in July. Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin also exchanged letters last month, vowing to bolster relations between their two countries.
US Department of State spokesperson Mr. Vedant Patel also warned North Korea against providing weapons to Russia, telling reporters that Moscow’s turn to Pyongyang for arms shows the effectiveness of US sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
“Russia has been forced to search desperately around the world for weapons it can use in its war in Ukraine because of our sanctions and export controls and the effects that those have had,” Mr. Patel stated.
Mr. Sullivan further commented that the Biden administration will continue to push to “dissuade the North Koreans” from providing Russia with weapons. “We will continue to call on North Korea to abide by its public commitments not to supply weapons to Russia that will end up killing Ukrainians,” the White House official added.
MOST READ | International Monetary Fund head concludes ‘productive’ China visit
