White House: Progress in North Korea-Russia Arms Supply Talks... Additional Pressure at the UN

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. National Security Advisor at the White House, stated on the 15th (local time) regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia and the North Korea-Russia summit, "There has been progress in talks about North Korea supplying weapons to Russia, and we believe this progress is ongoing."

At a White House briefing that day, Sullivan responded to a question about Russia's statement that no agreements were reached at the North Korea-Russia summit by saying this. He also said, "We cannot speak about specific (North Korea-Russia) agreements, but we do not consider it a fact that there were no agreements."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Regarding the mention of trilateral cooperation including North Korea during the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, he said, "We will watch how this manifests in terms of actions."

Addressing criticism that Russia and China, permanent members of the UN Security Council, are undermining UN sanctions against North Korea, he said, "There are numerous Security Council resolutions that China and Russia have legal obligations to implement and comply with," adding, "Russia's actions are of very serious concern." He also stated, "We will continue to raise the issue in cooperation with South Korea and Japan in Washington DC and New York that Russia must comply with UN Security Council resolutions."

Furthermore, Sullivan said, "We will continue to pressure for additional measures in response to North Korea's violations of international law or provocations at the UN in New York."

Referring to the trilateral security chiefs' call among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan the previous day regarding the North Korea-Russia summit, he said, "For the first time, a consultation and commitment mechanism was activated at the National Security Advisor level," adding, "We compared assessments of the current situation and coordinated measures to be taken within days or weeks." He further added, "The three countries are united in their response to whatever Russia chooses to do with North Korea going forward."