White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby revealed today, Thursday, that the United States has new information indicating that Russia is actively seeking to acquire additional weapons from North Korea in exchange for food aid. He noted that "we still fear that North Korea will provide further support for Russian military operations against Ukraine," and understands that Russia is looking to send a delegation to North Korea while providing food to North Korea in exchange for weapons. Kirby affirmed that any arms deal between North Korea and Russia would violate a range of Security Council resolutions, and pointed to recent statements from North Korea that it would not provide or sell weapons to Russia, stating, "We continue to monitor that closely."
Kirby's remarks came after the United States imposed sanctions on a Slovak citizen for attempting to arrange the sale of more than twenty types of North Korean weapons and munitions to Russia to help Moscow compensate for military equipment destroyed in its war with Ukraine. This action, which comes as Washington warned that Russia seeks to acquire additional arms from North Korea, is the latest in a series of sanctions imposed by the United States targeting Moscow and its efforts to obtain military equipment. The conflict in Ukraine has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands and turned many cities into rubble. The U.S. Treasury Department stated in a release that it imposed sanctions on Slovak citizen Ashot Makrtychev "for attempting to engage, directly or indirectly, in the import, export, or re-export of weapons or related materials to or in or from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
