Russian President Vladimir Putin walks, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses for a photo during the signing ceremony of the new partnership in Pyongyang. file | Photo Credit: AP
Government officials and a research group said Friday that Russia provided oil, anti-air missiles and economic aid to North Korea in exchange for troops to support Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
Also read: North Korea and Russia agreed to expand their economic cooperation
The United States and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 troops to help Russia fight Ukraine, with experts saying Kim Jong Un is seeking advanced technology and warfare for his troops in return. Were eager to gain experience.
Asked what Seoul believed justified the North’s deployment, South Korea’s top security adviser Shin Won-sik said, “It is recognized that there is a need to strengthen Pyongyang’s weak air defense system.” “Equipment and anti-aircraft missiles have been handed over to North Korea.”
Speaking to local broadcaster SBS, Mr Shin said North Korea had received “various types of economic aid”.
Separately, the nonprofit research group Open Source Center said Pyongyang received oil shipments from Russia.
According to a BBC report, citing satellite images, more than a dozen North Korean oil tankers have been making a total of 43 trips to an oil terminal in Russian ports over the past eight months.
Photos also showed the tanks almost full, empty after arrival, with the report quoting British Foreign Secretary David Lammy as saying the oil was payment for weapons and troops sent by Pyongyang to Moscow.
definitive document
North Korean leader Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a strategic partnership treaty during the Kremlin chief’s visit in June.
It obliges both countries to provide military assistance “without delay” in the event of an attack on each other and to cooperate internationally to resist Western sanctions.
Mr Putin praised the deal, calling it a “pioneering document”.
Experts say Pyongyang could use Ukraine as a means to realign foreign policy.
According to analysts, by sending troops, North Korea is positioning itself as a supplier of weapons, military aid and labor within the Russian war economy – potentially bypassing its traditional ally, neighbor and main trading partner, China. .
He says Russia could also give North Korea access to vast natural resources like oil and gas.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui recently visited Moscow and said his country would “stand firmly with our Russian comrades until Victory Day”.
He described Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine as a “sacred struggle” and said Pyongyang trusts Putin’s “wise leadership.”
North Korea and Russia are under UN sanctions – Kim for his nuclear weapons program, and Moscow for the Ukraine war.
When publicly asked last month about the North Korean troop deployment, Putin dodged the question to criticize the West’s support for Ukraine.
North Korea said last month that any troop deployment to Russia would be “an act consistent with the rules of international law,” but it did not confirm it had sent troops.
The troop deployment comes as North Korea marks a change in tone from Seoul, which has resisted calls to send lethal weapons to Kiev but has recently signaled it may change its long-term policy.
published – November 22, 2024 05:19 PM IST
