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North Korea could receive Russian satellite technology, the US Secretary of State has warned.
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The technology would be in exchange for sending troops to fight Ukraine, Antony Blinken said Monday.
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The US and its allies have accused Russia and North Korea of trading weapons and military technology.
Russia could share satellite technology with North Korea in exchange for the troops it has sent to fight Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned.
Blinken said at a press conference in Seoul on Monday that the US has reason to believe that “Moscow plans to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang.”
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 to launch satellites into space, but often failed. The country said it had successfully launched a military spy satellite in November 2023. The most recent failure was when a rocket exploded during its first flight phase in May last year.
The South Korean news agency announced this at the time Yonhap reported, citing an unnamed senior defense official, that a “large number” of Russian technicians had entered North Korea to supervise the country’s space program ahead of the failed launch.
In September 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that Russia would help North Korea build satellites.
Having a satellite network would allow North Korea to identify targets to attack with its missiles and strengthen its ability to launch a preemptive strike against the US or its allies, giving them just a few minutes to respond.
The relationship between Russia and North Korea has come under scrutiny in the past year after the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement in June that 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 rockets that Ukraine reportedly saw on the battlefield.
North Korea has done that too sent thousands of troops to help Russia in its fight against Ukraine, officials from South Korea, Ukraine and the US have said.
Blinken suggested that relations between Russia and North Korea could go deeper as Putin could 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 “largest sustained drivers” making Russia’s war against Ukraine possible.
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