Hidden Threat: Why West Hypes North Korea's Alleged Arms Shipments to Russia?
Some Western media outlets have brought up the issue of threats from North Korea again, now under a new guise. Thus, there were reports that Kim Jong-un allegedly approached Russian businesses with an offer to sell weapons, and that Moscow could allegedly propose oil, grain and military technology to Pyongyang as payment for these arms.
SputnikWestern press is running a fanfare amid rumors of North Korean arms sales to Russia.
Citing unnamed officials from the United States and other countries, none of the authors of the reputable Western media have officially confirmed this information or named the original source. Or is it that they do not want to?
The Western media buzz was also picked up by politicians and officials. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan urgently stated that negotiations between Russia and North Korea
on arms supplies were allegedly "actively progressing" and that Pyongyang would have to pay dearly for arms supplies to Moscow, which, according to the US, could be used by Russia in its special military operation in Ukraine.
Previously, the United States has repeatedly claimed that Russia is likely to cooperate with North Korea in supplying weapons to use in Ukraine. Moscow has denied these statements. What's more, North Korea has also refuted them. Russian ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora said that there was no question of North Korea supplying ammunition to Russia, as North Korea was in a pre-war situation and needed the arsenals itself.
Sputnik sat down with experts to look into the quid pro quo of the West's hyping of the hidden Korean threat of arms supplies.
Information Out of the Thin Air
"This is baseless and has been made out of the thin air. The main objective is to show that Russia has become so weak that it is asking for weapons even from North Korea," Kim Yong Un, a leading researcher at the Russian Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Sputnik.
The expert is sure that Russia does not need to purchase foreign weapons.
"We [Russia] don't need to buy weapons from other countries. Note this. We don't have a single evidence that we are buying weapons from other countries. We can handle it ourselves," Kim Yong Un pointed out.
According to him, the special
military operation in Ukraine has a huge impact on world events and international affairs, and all the forces of the West have now turned against Russia, which is "in fact the unification of a billion people against us," but Russia alone will fight back.
"This [information about the talks] is to show that we [Russia] are weak and need to be armed by a country like North Korea. And they are talking about us supposedly going to buy old shells. We don't need them, we have our own shells," Kim Yong Un emphasized.
According to Qin An, a well-known Chinese military expert, the US' information about possible arms supplies to Russia by the DPRK "actually demonstrates what they themselves worry about deep inside and are actually afraid of."
The expert recalled that at the latest stage of the Russian special military operation, the US and Western assistance to Ukraine in form of weapons and equipment has already exceeded $100 billion, with the US alone having spent $50 billion and relentlessly claimed that the assistance will continue as long as necessary.
According to Kim Yong Un, another reason why the US and the West are talking about negotiations between Russia and
DPRK on arms supplies is an attempt to divert attention from their own problems.
"They are being defeated in Ukraine, they now want to divert attention somehow. The US elections are coming up. The best way to ensure victory in the elections is to intimidate the population with an external threat, some military conflict that was unleashed against some country, and the valiant leadership [of the US] is defending their country," Kim Yong Un added.
The expert believes that under the current circumstances, Russia should look for ways to lift the sanctions imposed on North Korea by the UN Security Council for its nuclear tests.
He suggests that Moscow and Pyongyang will certainly
expand cooperation in practice, and the renewed military-technical cooperation between Russia and the DPRK is meant to warn America and their allies: don't try to start a conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
"Especially, North Korea has responded that it will strike [if that happens]," he said.
What's Next?
According to Kim, by talking about the arms talks between Russia and North Korea and trying to divert attention from the West's failures in Ukraine, the United States and its allies may try to organize some kind of provocation against Pyongyang in the region.
He recalled that about 400,000 people took part in the recent Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise by the US, South Korea and their allies, but the main thing was not the number but the composition of the participants.
"Units from the armed forces of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines participated. Doesn't that remind you of anything? These are the countries that fought during the Korean War on the side of the US. The legend of the exercise was as follows: North Korea attacked, and they [participants] strike the decision-making centers and the top leadership of North Korea," explained Kim.
He also added that the special military operation in Ukraine showed that some countries can behave aggressively toward the nuclear power, Russia, by shelling populated areas and launching missiles at its territory.
"So, it is possible that the Americans may think that they can use this example to stage some kind of provocation on the North Korean border, to somehow distract attention from Ukraine, from the upcoming elections [in the US], by declaring that North Korea is 'wicked', by unleashing a conflict, and then declare, 'hurrah, we won,'" Kim argued.
The annual South Korea-US military exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) took place from August 21 to 31. During the first phase from August 21 to 25, civil defense drills were conducted, testing the state's ability to quickly transition to a military and readiness for all-out warfare. During the second phase, field maneuvers of all branches of the Republic of Korea and US forces in Korea, as well as the US Space Force, were held from August 28 to 31.
Chinese expert Qin An also recalled that recently, the US Navy's strategic nuclear submarine entered the port of Busan city.
"The United States has been the main aggressor against the DPRK in the past, it still, regardless of time, poses a devastating threat to the existence of the North Korean people," he explained.
It is noteworthy that the Russian side reacted calmly to this news item. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told reporters earlier that the possibility of joint exercises between Russia and North Korea was not ruled out. According to him, this issue is being discussed with all of Russia's neighbors. He cited the example of joint patrols of strategic bombers and naval missile carriers with China, which are now conducted regularly several times a year.
Meanwhile, US actions to
pump weapons into its allies in the Asia-Pacific region and DPRK's neighbors - South Korea, Japan, Australia and other countries - are in full swing.