N. Korea-Russia cooperation stokes questions over potential for weapons coproduction: expert

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- Growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is raising questions over whether it would lead to their joint production of weapons with implications for security on the Korean Peninsula, a U.S. expert said Thursday.

Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), made the point as the North's alleged transfers of weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine have come under global criticism and scrutiny.

"(Russians) are going to basically try to outlast the West (in the war in Ukraine) and North Korea's munition stockpiles are not bottomless," Cha said during a virtual forum hosted by CSIS.

"This raises the question of coproduction ... whether the Russians will actually start to help North Korea produce more munitions and that, in turn, will also allow North Korea to have better munitions on the Korean Peninsula than some of the really crappy stuff that they have now," he added.

Military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow was highlighted when the White House revealed recently that Russia used North Korean ballistic missiles in its strikes against Ukraine on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and Saturday.

During the forum, Sydney Seiler, a former U.S. National Security Council official, expressed concerns that should Russia contribute to improving the North's arms industry, the world may see a more "powerful" and "emboldened" North Korea.

"North Korea's conventional weapons programs and even its missile programs have been impacted by resource shortages and their ability to produce in great quantity has always been limited by access to raw materials, the state of the production facilities and etc.," he said.

"If this relationship with Russia should enable improvements to production facilities and enhancement of surface-to-air missiles ... then we have a more powerful North Korea who I think will be even more emboldened," he added.

Amid concerns about the two countries' military ties, Seiler pointed out the role of China that has openly said it opposes instability on the peninsula.

"China needs to use the leverage it has with Moscow to lay down ... maybe even some cooperation guidelines for North Korea so that Moscow's behavior is more constrained, checked and balanced," he said. "China, to the degree it has leverage, is able to discourage (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un for being overly emboldened by what he's getting out of this relationship with Russia."

Concerns over burgeoning military cooperation between the North and Russia initially centered largely on its potential effect on Moscow's war efforts in Ukraine, but stoked broader worries that it could affect the overall security landscape on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

On Wednesday, South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Hwang Joon-kook said that Russia's use of North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine has given the North "technical and military insights."

Hwang also accused the North of having used Ukraine as a "test site of its nuclear capable missiles" as he cited experts' assessment that the North Korean missiles at issue are KN-23 missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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