The top US diplomat also reiterates that Vladimir Putin may be on the verge of accepting North Korea’s nuclear weapons program
Russia may be on the verge of sharing advanced satellite technology with North Korea after the isolated nation provided troops to help bolster Moscow’s war in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday.
“The DPRK is already receiving Russian military equipment and training. Now, we have reason to believe that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang,” says Blinken directly from Seoul, using North Korea’s official name.
Blinken is visiting the US’s key ally as part of his final trip abroad before Donald Trump’s inauguration. His comments come as North Korea tested what appeared to be an intermediate-range one in waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The top US diplomat also reiterates an earlier warning from the US ambassador to the United Nations that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be on the verge of accepting North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, reversing his decades-long commitment to denuclearization of North Korea. Korean Peninsula.
The US has repeatedly expressed concern about the growing alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow since Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a historic defense pact in June last year.
Putin’s visit to Pyongyang was widely seen as a way to ensure Kim Jong-un’s continued support for the war in Ukraine, as weapons reserves dwindled and large numbers of young Russians were killed or injured in the invasion that began earlier. almost three years.
Since then, North Korea has sent ammunition and missiles to Russia, although Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the arms transfers despite significant evidence. According to the assessments of the Ukrainian and Western intelligence services, the Russians also joined the fight on the side.
Furthermore, observers have long worried that Moscow was violating international sanctions to help Pyongyang develop its military satellite program.
In October, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun said at the Pentagon that North Korea will likely request transfers of Russian technology related to tactical nuclear weapons, the advancement of North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles, reconnaissance satellites and nuclear submarines, in exchange for sending troops to help Russia.
Zelensky praises Trump as Ukraine launches counterattack on Kursk
The Kursk region, on Russia’s southern border, remains the center of fighting, months after Ukraine launched its incursion into the territory. On Sunday, Kiev said it had launched surprise attacks against Russian forces at several locations in Kursk.
According to Ukrainian and Western assessments, around 11,000 North Korean troops are deployed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces occupy vast swaths of territory following the cross-border incursion in August last year.
On Monday, Blinken said that more than 1,000 North Koreans were killed or injured in Kursk in the last week of December, an estimate also shared by the White House in late December.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that 3,800 North Korean soldiers were killed or injured while fighting for Russia. CNN cannot independently verify this information.
Zelensky, who has repeatedly called for continued US military aid and weapons since the start of the Russian invasion, praised US President-elect Trump and billionaire Elon Musk during an interview with an American podcaster broadcast on Sunday.
Speaking to Lex Fridman, Zelensky said he “very much hopes” that Trump will “end the war” and believes that the president-elect has “all the power to stop Putin and give Ukraine strong security guarantees.”
The Ukrainian president has previously stated that when Trump takes power, the “war will end sooner” – a promise Trump made to his voters.
Zelensky said Trump won the November presidential election because he was a “much stronger” candidate than Vice President Kamala Harris.
“He showed he can do it intellectually and physically. It was important to show that, if we want to have a strong country, we have to be strong. And he was strong,” admitted Zelensky.
In the interview, Zelensky thanked Musk for providing Ukraine with the Starlink internet system, which proved crucial in its war effort against Russia.
The president of Ukraine further described Musk as “a leader of innovation” and said that people like him “only push the world forward”.
“I would love for Elon to be on our side as much as possible to support us,” he added.
When asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, Zelensky stressed that Kiev would only consider it if it was “sure that there are security guarantees” for the territories under Ukrainian control. Without these guarantees, he warned, Putin will strike again.
Ukraine would also need partial membership in NATO, Zelensky warned, and the West should provide more weapons to Kiev so that it could defend itself in the event of future attacks from Russia.
