Russia and North Korea in 'actively advancing' talks on weapons, says US

The United States has new intelligence that shows arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are advancing, as Moscow turns to pariah nations for weapons to fight the war in Ukraine, a White House spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The spokesperson, John Kirby of the National Security Council, said that President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had recently exchanged letters and that the Russian defense minister’s recent visit to Pyongyang included discussions on arms deals.

“Following these negotiations, high-level discussions may continue in coming months,” Kirby told reporters, describing the talks as “actively advancing.”

He declined to explain how the United States obtained the intelligence, saying only that it had been monitoring the situation “through a variety of means.” Kirby’s remarks were the latest case of the administration declassifying intelligence in an effort to disrupt or deter action.

US officials have said that global sanctions have severely restricted Russia’s supply chains and forced Moscow to look for other sources of weapons. The White House has accused North Korea of supplying rockets and missiles​ to Russia for use in Ukraine, which Pyongyang has denied. Russia has also received shipments of Iranian-made drones.

North Korea and Iran are largely cut off from international commerce because of US and international sanctions, meaning neither country has much to lose by making deals with Russia.

Kirby noted that North Korea had said publicly, on numerous occasions, that it would not sell ammunition to Russia, and he emphasized that any such deal would violate several UN Security Council resolutions.

In March, the United States announced sanctions against a Slovakian national accused of trying to broker a weapons deal in which Russia would offer North Korea food in exchange for munitions. Kirby said Wednesday that the letters between Putin and Kim were “surface level” and did not contain any details about a food-for-fuel deal.

Kirby said the United States considered Russia’s pursuit of artillery from “rogue regimes” to be a sign of “desperation and weakness” on Putin’s part.