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Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concern about the possible use of weapons between North Korea and Russia. They worry that Kim is providing much-needed weapons to help Russian President Vladimir Putin fight in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technological aid to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.
Speaking after the meeting, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington is working with Seoul and Tokyo to strengthen defense cooperation and improve its response. in North Korea’s missile tests and space programs, including the sharing of real-time information on North Korea’s missile. announced that the countries are planning to start on an unspecified date in December.
He also said the countries have agreed on new measures to better respond to North Korea’s efforts to avoid international sanctions led by the US that are intended to choke off funding for its nuclear weapons and missile programs.
“This will be a new effort in terms of cryptocurrency and money laundering and how we disrupt North Korea’s ability to make money from hacking and theft of cryptocurrency and laundering through transactions,” he said.
Sullivan declined to share detailed U.S. information on the types and quantities of weapons North Korea is sending to Russia and did not elaborate on his discussions with South Korea and the Japanese people about the issue, but argued that “there is no cloud with us. according to the types of weapons that we see. And it continues and represents a great concern for us.”
South Korean military and intelligence officials said North Korea may have sent more than a million missiles to Russia beginning in August, weeks before Kim traveled to Russia’s Far East for a summit. common with Putin expressed international concern about an arms deal. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have rejected the US and South Korean claims.
At a joint press conference after the third meeting on Saturday, Cho Tae-yong, director of South Korea’s national security agency, said that the security advisers reaffirmed that three the role of North Korea under many resolutions of the UN Security Council that require the destruction and prohibition of any arms trade with other countries, and agree to strengthen coordination to ensure that it is carried out.
Takeo Akiba, the secretary general of Japan’s defense ministry, said that “the frequency and pattern” of North Korea’s propaganda calls for a deeper and more effective partnership between Washington , Seoul and Tokyo.
South Korea, the United States, Japan and Australia have also announced their own sanctions against North Korea for launching spy satellites last month. North Korea is arguing for the right to launch spy satellites to monitor US and South Korean military activities and increase the threat of its nuclear missiles.
During his discussion with reporters, Sullivan said that the allies are preparing for the possibility that North Korea will show its weapons and threats in 2024, possibly including a nuclear test. seventh in the country.
Military order is also a concern after the North recently announced it was abandoning the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement to reduce border tensions after the South suspended the agreement, which established border walls and no-fly zones. Some experts say it has increased the risk of gunfire or border clashes.
“Look, when a country announces its intention to walk away from a set of measures designed to help reduce risk and increase stability, our concern for what might happen, temptation should go up,” said Sullivan, though he said it was the full effect. North’s vision is not immediately clear.
Sullivan held separate talks Friday with Cho and Akiba and also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The US, South Korea and Japan held a final meeting in June in Tokyo.
South Korean intelligence officials said the Russians appeared to have provided technological support for North Korea’s successful satellite launch in November, which followed two failed launches.
North Korea said its spy satellite had released images and aerial views of key facilities in the US and South Korea, including the White House and the Pentagon. But none of those satellite images have been published. Many foreign experts question whether North’s satellite is smart enough to send high-resolution images to the military.
Kim has vowed to launch more satellites, saying his military needs to acquire space-related expertise.
South Korean officials have also said that North Korea is using rockets and other weapons that could have been used by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel and that the North may consider selling them. weapons to terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Sullivan said the United States has not seen any concrete evidence of this, but remains vigilant.
“I think because of North Korea’s history of escalating actions, including prominent people at other levels in history, that’s a reasonable concern,” he said.