The United States has revealed that Moscow is seeking a new deal with Pyongyang to buy additional weapons in exchange for food to support its war in Ukraine, while Washington has identified the mediator between Russia and North Korea.
John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council's strategic communications coordinator, said the year-long war had forced Russia to turn to rogue regimes to try to acquire weapons and equipment to support its military operations in Ukraine, but Pyongyang denies the U.S. allegations.
Kirby told a news conference that this was partly due to the sweeping sanctions and export restrictions we had imposed.
He expressed concern about the possibility of North Korea providing more support for Russian military operations against Ukraine, saying: "We have new information indicating that Russia is actively seeking additional ammunition from Pyongyang."
If Russia's purchase of weapons from Pyongyang is successful, it would be the second time of its kind after the latter earlier supplied missiles to the Wagner Group, a private military company closely allied with the Russian presidency, in late 2022, according to U.S. intelligence.
Through the proposed deal, Russia will receive more than 20 types of weapons and ammunition from North Korea, and Moscow plans to send a delegation to Pyongyang to agree on food in exchange for weapons, according to the White House.
The U.S. official stressed that any arms deal between North Korea and Russia directly violates several U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Kirby concluded by saying that his country has taken note of recent statements by North Korea that it will not supply or sell arms to Russia, and we continue to monitor this closely.
Broker Identity
The United States said Thursday it had imposed sanctions on a Slovak national for trying to arrange an arms deal from North Korea to Russia to help Moscow replace military equipment lost in its war with Ukraine.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that it had sanctioned Slovak national Ashot Makrichev "for attempting, directly or indirectly, to import, export or re-export arms or related materiel to, in or from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
Between late 2022 and early 2023, Makrychev worked with North Korean officials to obtain more than 20 types of weapons and ammunition for Russia in exchange for items ranging from commercial aircraft to raw materials and commodities to be sent to North Korea, the Treasury Department said.