Russia’s Putin ‘does not rule out’ sending weapons to North Korea, US ‘incredibly’ concerned

HANOI – Mr Vladimir Putin said on June 20 that he does not rule out Russia sending arms to isolated North Korea in what Washington called an “incredibly concerning” statement that threatens instability on the divided Korean peninsula.

On a trip to Vietnam,

following a state visit to Pyongyang where Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defence pact, the Russian President also warned South Korea not to arm Ukraine.

He said prospects of Moscow providing weapons to North Korea are repercussions for the West arming Kyiv, which is fighting

a Russian invasion now in its third year.

“Those who send these (missiles to Ukraine) think that they are not fighting us, but I said that we then reserve the right to supply weapons to other regions of the world, with regard to our agreements with the DPRK,” he said, using the initials of North Korea’s official name. “I do not rule this one out.”

South Korea on June 20 called Russia’s treaty with the North a “grave concern”, with a senior official saying Seoul would reconsider its policy of not sending arms directly to Ukraine.

Mr Putin brushed off the response, saying: “South Korea has nothing to worry about.”

But he warned Seoul not to supply weapons to Kyiv, saying: “This would be a very big mistake.”

The US expressed deep unease over his threat to send weapons to Pyongyang, warning that it could destabilise the Korean peninsula.

“It is incredibly concerning,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. “It would destabilise the Korean peninsula, potentially, depending on the type of weapons, and might violate UN Security Council resolutions that Russia itself has supported.”

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on June 21 summoned Russian ambassador Georgy Zinoviev in protest against the pact and urged Russia to act responsibly. But the latter said cooperation between Russia and North Korea was not aimed at a third country, said an X post by the Russian Embassy in Seoul.

Pact with Vietnam

Russia and Vietnam, a close Moscow ally since the Cold War, pledged to deepen ties during Mr Putin’s state visit

aimed at bolstering alliances.

He did not receive as clear a declaration of support in Hanoi as he did in Pyongyang, where he had a rapturous reception. But Vietnamese President To Lam indicated a desire to boost defence cooperation.

Russia has been Vietnam’s main arms supplier for decades, but orders have dropped off in recent years as international sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict have intensified.

The two sides said in a joint statement that their defence cooperation was “not directed against any third country” and contributed to “peace, stability and sustainable development” in the region.

Mr Putin said the talks were constructive and both sides had “identical or very close” positions on key international issues.

He later held talks with Mr Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, and laid a wreath at the memorial to independence leader Ho Chi Minh.

Drumming up support

Mr Putin’s Asia tour came as the US, Britain and European Union all

announced new sanctions

aimed at constraining Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Group of Seven agreed to use profits from frozen Russian assets to provide

a new US$50 billion (S$67.7 billion) loan to Kyiv.

Making his first visit to isolated North Korea in 24 years on June 19, Mr Putin

signed a strategic treaty with leader Kim Jong Un

that included a commitment to come to each other’s aid if attacked.

Washington and its allies

accuse North Korea of supplying ammunition and missiles to Russia

for its war, and the new treaty has fuelled fears of more deliveries.

The two countries have been allies since North Korea’s founding after World War II, and have drawn even closer since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 isolated Mr Putin on the global stage.

Mr Kim vowed his “full support and solidarity” for the Ukraine war, which has triggered rafts of UN sanctions on Moscow.

Mr Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Mr Putin’s trip was a tour of “yesterday’s satellites of the USSR” in search of “military and technical aid and cannon fodder”.

Mr Putin’s reception was reserved in Vietnam, a major global manufacturing hub that has carefully hedged its foreign policy position for years, seeking to be friends with all but beholden to none.

It has avoided picking sides in the growing US-China rivalry as both superpowers look to boost their influence in South-east Asia.

US President Joe Biden visited Hanoi in September 2023 to promote ties as his administration seeks to build up Vietnam as an alternative supplier of key high-tech components to reduce American dependence on China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping followed suit, making his own state visit barely three months later. AFP