The US will seek further action against North Korea for its provocations and other breaches of international law, US President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned on Friday at a press briefing.
Sullivan was commenting on the recent meeting between North Korean authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and their potential arms deal to supply weapons to be used in Ukraine. NSA Sullivan noted that the US is assessing talks between North Korea and Russia, adding that there are concerns that the military deal talks between the two countries may be “advancing.”
During the one-to-one meeting with Russia’s President Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un clarified that he is apparently seeking to bolster military technology cooperation with Russia. In exchange, Putin sought ammunition from the DPRK.
“We will continue to press for further action in New York in response to provocations and other steps that North Korea takes that are in violation of international law,” Sullivan told a press briefing, as he informed about US President Joe Biden’s plan to attend the UN General Assembly next week.
‘US, South Korea, Japan, on trilateral basis will respond to anything:’ Sullivan
When asked by reporters in Washington about the review of the meeting between Kim and Putin, Sullivan stressed, “Our view has been before (Kim’s) visit and after the visit that talks about the provision of weapons by North Korea to Russia to kill Ukrainians have been advancing and continue to advance.” US NSA made references to the trilateral call with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Cho Tae-Yong and Takeo Akiba, stating that Seoul, Washington and Tokyo’s trilateral alignment was enough to contain Russia and North Korea.
“The three of us had the opportunity to compare notes on this and to coordinate what steps we will take in the coming days and weeks,” said US NSA Jake Sullivan. “We are very closely aligned on a trilateral basis to respond to anything that Russia chooses to do with North Korea on a going forward basis.”
Earlier yesterday, US officials threatened additional sanctions against North Korea and Russia for striking the arms deal which they said would be in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
