North Korea could get a boost from Russia in advancing its nuclear and long-range missile capabilities in exchange for providing weapons to Moscow for its war in Ukraine, a high-ranking U.S. diplomat said Monday.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell also said at a think tank event in Washington that China has indicated in its interactions with the United States that it too is anxious about Russia's deepening ties with North Korea.
"We believe that there are discussions about what North Korea gets in exchange, and they could be associated with its nuclear or long-range missile development plans, perhaps other things, in energy and the like," Campbell said. "We are concerned."
He said the United States knows North Korea has provided an enormous amount of shells and some long-range missiles, as well as other capabilities, to Russia since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"I think it would be fair to say that China is probably worried that North Korea will be somehow encouraged to take provocative steps that could lead to a crisis in Northeast Asia," he said at the event organized by the Council on Foreign Relations.
Campbell added that although China and Russia have been "working very closely" with regard to Ukraine, the United States believes there are tensions between Beijing and Moscow over North Korea.
About a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea for the first time in more than two decades and signed a new mutual defense deal with its leader Kim Jong Un, Campbell said he sees Pyongyang as trying to redefine its role in global politics.
"We've also seen a recurring pattern of absolute clear determination to avoid diplomacy with the United States, Japan or South Korea on any terms," he said. "This is a dangerous set of developments and one that we're watching and engaged on very closely."
Related coverage:
New North Korea-Russia pact stipulates "all means" of military aid
