By KYIV. Sept 18 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Russia may be open to forms of technological and defensive cooperation with North Korea but is unlikely to provide physical systems due to Russian fears that providing the North Korean regime with such systems may trigger further sanctions against Russia, the analytical review of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) posted following the completion of the visit of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to Russia on September 17 says.
At the same time, it is noted that the head of the DPRK received from the governor of Primorsky Krai several units of military-technical equipment, which will presumably be deployed in North Korea.
The ISW recalls that the United Nations sanctions indicate that “all Member States are required to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer to the DPRK, through their territories or by their nationals, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, and whether or not originating in their territories, of all arms and related materiel, including small arms and light weapons …”
South Korean President Yoon Suuk-Yeol stated that Russian and North Korean military technical agreements may violate sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council. Yoon stated that if information about these agreements is confirmed then this will be a violation of the sanctions and illegal.
“The war in Ukraine has reportedly generated a rapid growth in South Korean arms exports as South Korea replenishes Western stocks of ammunition and systems that the West has sent to Ukraine. South Korea has not yet directly supplied lethal security assistance to Ukraine,” the ISW notes.
