Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korea. This deal could cause problems between Russia and China, which has been North Korea’s main ally for a long time. The top US military officer, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, mentioned this possibility while talking to reporters during his overseas trip.
General Brown said that this new agreement might lead to some friction between China and Russia. He finds it interesting to see how the relationships among these three countries will evolve. Analysts believe that the pact could weaken China’s influence over North Korea and Russia. Any resulting instability could negatively impact China’s global economic and strategic goals.
On Thursday, Putin indicated that Russia might provide weapons to North Korea. He suggested this would be a response to the Western countries arming Ukraine. While the US is concerned about this deal, General Brown pointed out that the agreement appears to be broad and not very binding. This suggests that while Russia and North Korea want to cooperate, they do not want to be fully committed.
US officials believe North Korea is interested in acquiring advanced military equipment from Russia. This includes fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment, and other advanced technologies. However, General Brown doubts that Russia will give North Korea everything it wants.
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The treaty signed by Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un commits both countries to provide immediate military assistance to each other if either one is attacked. Putin has stated that he expects this cooperation to act as a deterrent to the West. However, he also mentioned that there is no need to involve North Korean soldiers in the war in Ukraine.
The US and Ukraine have accused North Korea of supplying Russia with a significant amount of artillery shells and ballistic missiles. Both Russia and North Korea deny these accusations.
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