Russia鈥檚 continued pursuit of weapons from North Korea: joint statement
The UK, US, Japan and South Korea issued a statement following Russia's negotiation of potential deals with North Korea for munitions to be used against Ukraine.
Joint statement from the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea:
Good morning everyone, and thank you very much for being here, I would like聽to make a statement聽in my national capacity聽on behalf of Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and聽the United States.
At the top, I would like to note that we are tracking reports that the DPRK has conducted another launch this morning. And as we investigate further, we call on the DPRK to refrain from engaging in provocative behaviour and instead accept one of our numerous offers for dialogue.
We are here today to share new, deeply troubling information:聽arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are actively advancing.聽As was highlighted during Friday鈥檚 Council meeting, Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu stood beside Kim Jong Un during the DPRK鈥檚 recent military parade聽鈥撀爓hich聽showcased聽the DPRK鈥檚 Security Council-prohibited ballistic missile advancements.聽It is shameful that the Russian Federation聽鈥撀燼 permanent member聽of the Security Council聽鈥撀爌articipated in a celebration of the DPRK鈥檚 continued pursuit of nuclear聽weapons聽delivery聽systems.
The United States is聽now able to share that Shoigu鈥檚 visit was more than just a photo op. Russia聽used this visit to the DPRK to try to convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition to Russia.聽Since then, Vladimir聽Putin and Kim Jong Un聽have exchanged letters pledging to increase their bilateral cooperation.聽Our information further indicates that, following Shoigu鈥檚 visit, another group of Russian officials traveled to the DPRK for follow-up discussions about potential arms deals between the DPRK and Russia.
Russia is negotiating potential deals for significant quantities and multiple types of munitions from the DPRK to be used against Ukraine.聽These potential deals could also include the provision of raw materials that would assist Russia鈥檚 defense industrial base.聽In its pursuit of these weapons, Russia will violate Security Council resolutions, including resolutions Russia itself voted for.聽Any such arms deal would be a serious violation of resolutions the Security Council adopted, unanimously, after the DPRK鈥檚 past nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches.
Those resolutions prohibited all member states, including Russia, from procuring any arms from the DPRK. This sends the wrong message to aspiring proliferators:聽that if you sell Russia arms, Russia will defend聽鈥撀爀ven enable聽鈥撀爕our pursuit of nuclear weapons.聽On numerous occasions, the DPRK has publicly said it will not sell arms to Russia. We聽urge the DPRK to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and abide by the public commitments Pyongyang has made.
This is not the first time Russia has moved to violate Security Council resolutions to pursue its illegal war against Ukraine. There is now incontrovertible evidence that Russia has procured drones from Iran in violation of another resolution it voted for, Security Council Resolution 2231. Russia has since used those drones in punishing attacks against critical infrastructure in Ukraine. And we are very disappointed the UN has not carried out its mandate to investigate and document Russia鈥檚 outrageous violations.
Russia鈥檚 pattern of behaviour 鈥� flouting its responsibilities as a member of the Security Council, propping up proliferating regimes聽鈥撀爄s unacceptable. The United States is therefore taking direct action聽鈥撀燽y exposing and sanctioning individuals and entities working to facilitate arms deals between Russia and the DPRK. On August 16th, we designated additional entities tied to an already sanctioned evasion network attempting to support illicit DPRK-Russia arms deals.
We cannot 鈥� and we will not聽鈥撀爏tay silent as we receive more information that Russia continues to turn to rogue regimes to try to obtain weapons and equipment in order to聽support its brutal war of aggression.聽We will continue to work with allies and partners to identify, expose, and counter Russian attempts to acquire military equipment from the DPRK or any state that is prepared to support Russia鈥檚聽war in Ukraine. And we聽will keep strengthening cooperation to address the DPRK鈥檚聽weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
This is a pressing matter of international peace and security, and it is one that demands the Council鈥檚 attention. Thank you.