A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence agency’s determination, said Monday that Russia’s move toward the reclusive state of North Korea shows that “the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions.” US intelligence officials believe the Russians could seek additional North Korean military equipment in the future. The Secret Service’s finding was first reported by the New York Times. The US official did not specify how many weapons Russia plans to buy from North Korea. The finding comes after the Biden administration recently confirmed that the Russian military received Iranian-made drones for battlefield use in Ukraine in August. The White House said last week that Russia had experienced technical problems with Iranian drones acquired from Tehran in August for use in its war with Ukraine. Russia received Mohajer-6 and Shahed series unmanned aerial vehicles for several days last month as part of what the Biden administration says is likely part of a Russian plan to acquire hundreds of Iranian UAVs for use in Ukraine. North Korea has sought to strain relations with Russia as much of Europe and the West have withdrawn, blaming the United States for the crisis in Ukraine and denouncing the West’s “hegemonic policy” as justification for Russia’s military action in Ukraine to be protected. The North Koreans have shown interest in sending construction workers to help rebuild Russian-held territory in the east of the country. North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow recently met with envoys from two Russian-backed separatist territories in Ukraine’s Donbass region and expressed optimism for cooperation in the “labor migration sector,” citing the easing of his country’s pandemic border controls. In July North Korea became the only nation besides Russia and Syria to recognize the independence of the territories, Donetsk and Luhansk, further aligning themselves with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. North Korea’s provocative move comes as the Biden administration grows increasingly concerned about North Korea’s increased activity in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. North Korea has launched more than 30 ballistic missiles this year, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile flights since 2017, as leader Kim Jong Un pushes to advance his nuclear arsenal despite US-led pressure and sanctions. The US has often downplayed and leaked intelligence findings during the bitter war in Ukraine to highlight plans for Russian disinformation operations or draw attention to Moscow’s difficulties in prosecuting the war. Ukraine’s smaller army has put up stiff resistance against militarily superior Russian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim recently exchanged letters in which both called for “comprehensive” and “strategic and tactical” cooperation between the countries. Moscow, for its part, has issued statements condemning the revival of large-scale military exercises between the United States and South Korea this year, which North Korea sees as a rehearsal for an invasion. Russia, along with China, have called for an easing of UN sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear and missile tests. Both countries are members of the UN Security Council, which has approved a total of 11 rounds of sanctions on the North since 2006. In May, Russia and China vetoed a US-led effort to impose new economic sanctions on the North. North Korea due to profile missile tests this year. Some experts say Kim could likely strengthen his resolve to keep his nuclear weapons because he may believe the Russian attack happened because Ukraine had signed away its nuclear arsenal. Relations between Moscow and Pyongyang date back to North Korea’s founding in 1948, when Soviet officials installed the young, ambitious nationalist Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of Kim Jong Un, as the country’s first ruler. Since then, sending Soviet aid was vital to sustaining North Korea’s economy for decades before the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Moscow had since established formal diplomatic ties with Seoul as part of its hopes to attract investment from South Korea and allowed its Soviet-era military alliance with North Korea to end. But after his election in 2000, Putin actively sought to restore his country’s ties with North Korea in an effort to regain its traditional spheres of influence and secure more allies to better deal with the United States.
Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report.
