North Korea has taken advantage of Russia's international isolation in the aftermath of President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine to strengthen connections, endangering international attempts to push Pyongyang over its clandestine nuclear weapons development.
According to US sources, Russia has acquired millions of missiles and artillery rounds from North Korea as Western sanctions continue to suffocate Moscow's armament supply.
North Korea Offers Support to Russia
The announcement is the latest indicator of improving relations between the two nations, following Pyongyang's defiance of Chinese policy in July, when it recognized the separatist areas of Luhansk and Donetsk in Russian-occupied Ukraine. Analysts and western diplomats believe Pyongyang is promising Moscow its assistance in exchange for reciprocal help if tensions on the Korean peninsula rise.
As a result of Western sanctions, Kim Jong Un's dictatorship has sold missiles and other military assets to Russia. Other than Russia, Kim Jong Un's dictatorship was one of just four countries to oppose a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the military action.
Moscow has returned the favor by reiterating Pyongyang's condemnation of the US and South Korean large-scale military drills in August. In a recent interview with Russian media, Moscow's envoy to North Korea appeared to back Pyongyang's unfounded assertions that COVID-19-infected balloons sent into the nation from South Korea were to blame for this year's coronavirus outbreak, Financial Times reported.
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Kim Jong Un Will Never Abandon Nuclear Weapons, Missiles
Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un has vowed that his country will never give the nuclear weapons and missiles needed to face the United States, which he accuses of launching a pressure campaign to undermine the North's defenses and eventually bring his dictatorship down.
According to state media, Kim made the remarks during an address to North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament on Thursday when lawmakers also enacted a bill authorizing North Korea's military to automatically launch nuclear attacks against enemy forces if its leadership is attacked.
He also attacked rival South Korea's plans to increase conventional strike capabilities and resurrect large-scale military drills with the US to meet the North's mounting threats, calling it a "dangerous" military operation that worsens tensions.
In recent months, Kim Jong Un has issued increasingly inflammatory nuclear-conflict threats to the United States and its Asian allies, warning that the North will proactively use its nuclear weapons if threatened. His most recent remarks highlighted the region's rising hostility as he advances the growth of his nuclear weapons and missile programs.
In his speech, Kim Jong Un also addressed domestic matters, stating that North Korea will begin the long-delayed delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations in November. He didn't say how many doses there would be, where they would come from, or how they would be distributed among his 26 million-person population, as per Ktar News.
Based on a freshly leaked US intelligence report, the Kremlin is being compelled to resort to North Korea to stock up on essential supplies to fuel its protracted battle in Ukraine.
Per a US official, Russia's Ministry of Defense is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from the so-called Hermit Kingdom, and the purchases show that Moscow's military continues to face severe supply shortages in Ukraine, owing in part to export controls and sanctions.
The individual went on to say that the intelligence community believed it was part of a trend, with Russia looking to buy further North Korean military assets in the future. The Biden administration hailed the outcome as proof that international sanctions were working, despite what analysts said were some negative side effects in the US, even as the White House opposed Kyiv's requests to put more restrictions on Russia by labeling it a state sponsor of terrorism, according to ABC News.
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