Russia, North Korea expanding military partnership, White House says

WASHINGTON — Russia and North Korea are building a military partnership amid heavy U.S. sanctions and support for Ukraine, according to a new assessment by the National Security Council.

Council spokesman John Kirby briefed reporters on a map allegedly showing lethal aid flowing from North Korea to Russia to supply the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. In the last month or so, he said, “1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions” have followed this route.

“We condemn the DPRK for providing Russia with this military equipment, which will be used to attack Ukrainian cities, kill Ukrainian civilians and further Russia’s illegitimate war ,” he said Friday, using an abbreviation for North Korea.

For the last year and a half, Russia’s war against Ukraine has emptied the military stockpiles of both parties as well as their international supporters. The fight has largely been one of attrition, in which either side advances only after pounding the other with artillery. Such combat requires a constant supply of shells. Ukraine fires about 8,000 a day, according to an official with Ukraine’s Defence Ministry.

Just as the U.S. and its allies have increased production and donated stocks to Ukraine, Russia has partnered with other nations to sustain its war effort. Most notably, Moscow has received a supply of Iranian-made drones that it’s used to batter Ukrainian infrastructure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Russia for several days last month, in which the two discussed bilateral cooperation and toured factories. The meeting concerned U.S. officials, who watched the rare summit between two adversaries, drawn together amid American-led isolation.

During their summit, Kim pledged support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. For his part, Putin mentioned North Korea’s “great interest in rocket technology,” a reference to the country’s fledgling space program that Russia could assist. North Korea has tried and failed twice to launch satellites this year, and the visit included a tour of Russia’s far east spaceport.

During March, July, August and September, Kirby said, the U.S. and its allies have sanctioned people involved in arms negotiations and transfers between Russia and North Korea, whose nuclear program has made it a global pariah.

“In return for support, we assess that Pyongyang is seeking military assistance from Russia including fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment, or other materials and other advanced technologies,” Kirby said.

He added that the U.S. has already seen Russian ships make deliveries to North Korea. These, he explained, may have been the first deliveries of Russian military equipment to North Korea.

Kirby used the assessment to again argue for supplemental Ukraine assistance. Earlier this year, the White House requested about $25 billion in further funding. The Senate nearly passed a bill including $6 billion, but later dropped that provision in late September as part of a deal to keep the government from shutting down..

At a meeting in Brussels of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a set of countries supporting Kyiv, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced $200 million more in U.S. security aid. That brings the amount of money available to send to $5.2 billion, alongside about $1.6 billion in funds to restock the U.S. military’s inventory.

Congress can’t approve further aid unless the House has a confirmed speaker — an absence likely to continue after the previous Republican nominee, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, withdrew his name for consideration.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

华盛顿——据美国国家安全委员会最新评估显示，在美国严厉制裁和支持乌克兰的背景下，俄罗斯和朝鲜正在建立军事伙伴关系。

委员会发言人约翰·柯比向记者展示了一张地图，据称该地图显示致命援助物资正从朝鲜流向俄罗斯，以支持后者入侵乌克兰。他说，在过去一个月左右的时间里，“1000个装有军事装备和弹药的集装箱”沿着这条路线运输。

“我们谴责朝鲜民主主义人民共和国向俄罗斯提供这些军事装备，这些装备将被用来攻击乌克兰城市，杀害乌克兰平民，并进一步推进俄罗斯的非法战争，”他周五说道，他使用的是朝鲜的缩写。

过去一年半以来，俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争耗尽了交战双方及其国际支持者的军火储备。这场战争主要以消耗战为主，双方只有在炮火猛烈轰击对方后才能取得进展。这种战斗需要源源不断的炮弹供应。据乌克兰国防部一位官员称，乌克兰每天发射约8000枚炮弹。

正如美国及其盟友增加了产量并向乌克兰捐赠物资一样，俄罗斯也与其他国家合作以维持其战争行动。最值得注意的是，莫斯科获得了一批伊朗制造的无人机，并用它们来攻击乌克兰的基础设施。

俄罗斯总统普京和朝鲜领导人金正恩上个月在俄罗斯举行了数天会晤，双方讨论了双边合作并参观了工厂。此次会晤引起了美国官员的关注，他们密切关注着这场罕见的、在以美国为主导的孤立主义背景下促成的两个宿敌之间的峰会。

在峰会期间，金正恩承诺支持俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争。普京则提到朝鲜“对火箭技术有着浓厚的兴趣”，指的是朝鲜尚处于起步阶段的太空计划，俄罗斯可以为其提供帮助。朝鲜今年曾两次尝试发射卫星，但均以失败告终。此次访问还包括参观俄罗斯远东航天发射场。

柯比表示，在 3 月、7 月、8 月和 9 月期间，美国及其盟友对参与俄罗斯和朝鲜之间武器谈判和转移的人员进行了制裁，朝鲜的核计划使其成为全球弃儿。

“我们评估认为，作为支持的回报，平壤正在寻求俄罗斯的军事援助，包括战斗机、地对空导弹、装甲车、弹道导弹生产设备或其他材料和先进技术，”柯比说。

他还补充说，美国已经看到俄罗斯船只向朝鲜运送物资。他解释说，这些可能是俄罗斯首次向朝鲜运送军事装备。

柯比再次利用这份评估报告，力主向乌克兰追加援助。今年早些时候，白宫曾要求追加约250亿美元的援助资金。参议院一度几乎通过了一项包含60亿美元的法案，但后来在9月下旬，为了避免政府停摆，参议院放弃了这一条款。

在布鲁塞尔举行的乌克兰防务联络小组会议上，美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀宣布追加2亿美元美国安全援助。该小组由支持基辅的国家组成。这使得美国可提供的援助总额达到52亿美元，此外还有约16亿美元用于补充美军的物资储备。

除非众议院有一位正式的议长，否则国会无法批准进一步的援助——此前共和党提名人、路易斯安那州的史蒂夫·斯卡利斯撤回了他的提名，因此众议院议长空缺的情况可能会持续下去。

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。