White House says Moscow likely to supply Pyongyang with advanced technologies in exchange
Russia has started using ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea to attack Ukraine, the White House has said.
Washington also alleged Russia was in talks with Iran to buy short-range ballistic missiles. The US intelligence assessment is that Iranian missiles have not yet arrived in Russia, but that the deal will eventually be done.
The US’s national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said on Thursday that Russia fired a North Korean ballistic missile into Ukraine on 30 December, but it landed in an open field. However, Kirby said Russian forces had launched more such missiles as part of a large salvo on 2 January, and their impact had yet to be assessed.
“Due in part to our sanctions and export controls, Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage, and they’ve been forced to look to like-minded states for military equipment. As we’ve been warning publicly, one of those states is North Korea,” Kirby told reporters at the White House, adding it was a “significant and concerning escalation” in Pyongyang’s support for Moscow.
Kirby said the range of the North Korean missiles was 900km (560 miles), and that in return for the weapons, Russia was expected to supply fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armoured vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment and other advanced technologies.
“This would have concerning security implications for the Korean peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
Kirby added that Iran had already demonstrated its close-range ballistic missile capabilities to visiting Russian military officials, though no such missile deliveries to Russia had been detected so far.
“The United States is concerned that Russian negotiations to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advancing,” he said, concluding: “We assess that Russia intends to purchase missile systems from Iran.”
In response, Kirby said the US would impose sanctions on those involved in facilitating the arms transfer, and take the matter of Russia’s weapons trade with North Korea to the UN, as a violation of an international arms embargo.
He argued that Moscow’s foreign arms acquisition should serve as a reminder to Congress of the costs of its failure to pass an Ukraine arms supply package before Christmas.
“Russia is relying upon its friends to be able to restore its military stockpiles and enable its war against Ukraine,” Kirby said. “Iran and [North Korea] are standing with Russia. Ukrainians deserve to know that the American people and this government will continue to stand with them.
“So it’s critical that Congress meets this moment and responds by providing Ukraine with what they need to defend themselves. The time for Congress to act is now.”
Source: The Guardian
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