US Worries Kim Jong Un Will Deepen Military Ties With Russia: 'Will Continue To Enforce All Of Our Sanctions'

The Biden Administration has voiced concerns about the growing military cooperation between Kim Jong Un and Russia.

What Happened: A U.S. State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, expressed dissatisfaction over the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, saying that the U.S. would uphold all existing sanctions on both countries.

“Obviously, we have seen close cooperation between Russia and North Korea,” the spokesperson told the media.

“We have made clear our concerns about cooperation between Russia and North Korea. We have made clear our concerns about North Korea seeking to assist Russia in its aggression in Ukraine, and we will continue to make those concerns clear and we will continue to enforce all of our sanctions,” Miller added.

Why It Matters: Kim Jong Un on Monday emphasized the need to ramp up the country’s weapons production, particularly focusing on modernizing small arms, as part of what he termed as “war preparations.” He made this call following his three-day inspection of key North Korean arms facilities.

The development came days after Kim met Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at a defense exhibition displaying North Korea’s banned ballistic missiles.

This meeting marked Shoigu’s first visit to North Korea since the fall of the Soviet Union. During the meeting, Kim and Shoigu viewed an exhibition of new weapons and military equipment, including some of North Korea’s ballistic missiles.

The North Korean supreme leader also received a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaling the deepening of the “strategic and traditional” relations between the two countries.

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