North Korea could get Russian satellite tech, the US Secretary of State has warned.
The tech would be in exchange for it sending troops to fight Ukraine, Antony Blinken said on Monday.
The US and its allies have accused Russia and North Korea of trading arms and military technology.
Russia could share satellite technology with North Korea in exchange for the troops it sent to fight Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned.
Blinken said the US had reason to believe that “Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang,” during a press conference in Seoul on Monday.
North Korea “is already receiving Russian military equipment and training,” he added.
If confirmed, it would add to Russia’s reported ongoing efforts to help North Korea advance its satellite launch program.
Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, has repeatedly tried and often failed to launch satellites into space. The country said it had successfully launched a military spy satellite in November 2023. The most recent failure was when a rocket exploded during the first stage of flight in May last year.
At the time, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing an unnamed senior defense official, that a “large number” of Russian technicians had entered North Korea to guide the country’s space program ahead of the failed launch.
In September 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Russia would help North Korea build satellites.
Having a satellite network would allow North Korea to identify targets to strike with its missiles and strengthen its ability to launch a preemptive strike against the US or its allies, giving them only a few minutes to respond.
Russia and North Korea’s relationship has come under scrutiny in the past year after both countries signed a strategic partnership agreement in June, which requires the countries to defend each other in the event of aggression.
The US and its allies had previously accused Moscow of sending raw materials, food, and technical expertise to Pyongyang in exchange for shipments of artillery ammunition and missiles that Ukraine has reported seeing on the battlefield.
North Korea has also sent thousands of troops to aid Russia in its fight against Ukraine, officials from South Korea, Ukraine, and the US have said.
Blinken suggested Russia-North Korea’s relations could go deeper as Putin may be “close” to formally accepting North Korea’s status as a nuclear power.
He also described North Korea’s deployment of artillery, ammunition, and troops as one of the “biggest ongoing drivers” that enabled Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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