Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a concert at the Hanoi Opera House in Hanoi, Vietnam June 20, 2024. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that Russia might supply weapons to North Korea, suggesting this would be a reciprocal response to the Western provision of arms to Ukraine. This statement was made during a press conference in Vietnam, following Putin’s visit to nuclear-armed North Korea, where he signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Western nations have largely isolated North Korea due to its development of nuclear and ballistic missiles, in violation of U.N. sanctions. The growing relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang is viewed with concern by these countries. Earlier this month, Putin had intimated that Russia might supply arms to adversaries of the West in response to the West’s supply of high-precision weapons to Ukraine and the authorization for Ukraine to target sites within Russia.
In his latest remarks, Putin indicated that North Korea could be a potential recipient of Russian arms. “I stated, including in Pyongyang, that we reserve the right to supply weapons to other regions of the world. Given our agreements with North Korea, I do not exclude this possibility,” he said. The treaty signed by Putin and Kim on Wednesday obligates each nation to provide immediate military assistance to the other in the event of armed aggression against either party.
Putin asserted that Moscow expects its cooperation with North Korea to act as a deterrent to the West. However, he noted there was no necessity to deploy North Korean soldiers in the conflict in Ukraine. “Regarding the possibility of utilizing each other’s capabilities in the Ukraine conflict, we are not seeking this, no one has offered this, and therefore, there is no need,” he stated. The United States and Ukraine have alleged that North Korea has already supplied Russia with significant quantities of artillery shells and ballistic missiles, allegations that both Moscow and Pyongyang deny.
Regarding South Korea, Putin warned that Seoul would be making a “significant mistake” if it decided to supply arms to Ukraine, promising a painful response from Moscow. This comment followed a report by South Korean news agency Yonhap that Seoul might reconsider supplying weapons to Ukraine in light of the new mutual defense pact between Putin and Kim.
Putin also elaborated on earlier comments regarding nuclear weapons, indicating that Moscow is contemplating potential changes to its doctrine on nuclear use. This reconsideration is driven by evolving views on nuclear weapon use among Russia’s adversaries. Russia’s current doctrine allows for nuclear weapon use in response to a nuclear attack or a conventional attack that poses an existential threat to the state. Since the commencement of the war in Ukraine, some Russian military analysts have advocated for revising this stance and even suggested a nuclear strike to deter the West.
Putin explained that Russia is considering changes to its doctrine because potential enemies are developing “new elements” related to lowering the threshold for nuclear use. “Specifically, extremely low-power nuclear explosive devices are being developed. We are aware that there are ideas in Western expert circles that such means of destruction could be used,” he said. While he downplayed the severity of these developments, he emphasized that Russia needed to address them.
Since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which he describes as a special military operation to secure Russia’s own security, Putin has frequently highlighted the strength and potency of Russia’s nuclear arsenal and cautioned the West against deepening its involvement in the conflict, warning of the risks of a global confrontation.
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