The White House: An upcoming summit meeting between the North Korean leader and Putin to discuss providing Moscow with weapons and supplies
The White House announced Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un intends to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia as part of the ongoing arms negotiations between the two countries with the aim of supplying Moscow with North Korean weapons.
“As we have previously warned publicly, arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are progressing rapidly,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the US National Security Council.
“We’ve information that Kim Jong-un expects these talks to continue to include diplomatic dialogue in Russia at the leadership level,” she added.
The White House announced last week that Moscow is secretly holding intense talks with Pyongyang to obtain from its quantities of ammunition and supplies needed for its war in Ukraine.
According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, North Korea, despite its denials, supplied Russia last year with missiles used by the Wagner private military group in Ukraine.
On Monday, Watson said the United States had urged North Korea to cease arms negotiations with Russia and abide by public commitments Pyongyang has made not to supply or sell weapons to Russia.
“As we have warned publicly, arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are progressing rapidly,” she added.
She explained that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to North Korea in August to seek additional ammunition for the war his country is waging in Ukraine.
For its part, The New York Times reported that Kim, who rarely travels abroad, will most likely travel in September to Vladivostok, located on the Russian Pacific coast near North Korea, to meet Putin.
