US Claims NKorea Shipped Arms to Russia

Facts

• The White House on Friday accused North Korea of supplying up to 1K containers of equipment and munitions in recent weeks to Russia for its current war in Ukraine.¹
• Claiming that the containers were shipped between Sept. 7 and Oct. 1, the White House released images appearing to show nearly 300 containers it alleged were being assembled in Najin for transport to a supply depot near Russia's southwestern border.²
• In return for support, the White House alleged, North Korea is seeking military assistance from Russia, including fighter aircraft and surface-to-air missiles.³
• Revealing that the US is closely monitoring whether Moscow will deliver weapons, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby warned that 'any technology transfers from Russia to the DPRK undermines regional stability and the global non-proliferation regime.'⁴
• The accusations come a month after North Korea's Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia's Far East to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin and visit key military sites.⁵
• This comes as North Korea — which has denied previous allegations that it had supplied Russia with weapons — criticized the US for sending an aircraft carrier to South Korea earlier this week.⁶

Sources: ¹Associated Press (a), ²BBC News, ³Reuters, ⁴VOA, ⁵Associated Press (b) and ⁶The Japan Times.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by BBC News. Any Russian attempt to buy munitions from North Korea violates UN resolutions that ban all arms trade with the isolated country. The US must monitor the deliveries as they could kill Ukrainian civilians, further Russia's illegitimate war, and play a decisive role in the conflict.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Global Times. It's hypocritical to criticize Russia or call its military partnership with North Korea illegal when the US has been sending lethal weapons to Ukraine in a large-scale hybrid war it has unleashed against Moscow. Before warning others, Washington could use some introspection.

Predictions