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Russian President Vladimir Putin issued new warnings to both NATO and South Korea as Moscow stokes tensions on the Korean peninsula
- Tester
- Jun 24, 2024
- 5 min read
Original Article by Ben Wolfgang and Guy Taylor | Published on June 21, 2024
The U.S. finds it “incredibly concerning” that Mr. Putin could deliver arms to North Korea. And South Korea summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest Moscow’s growing military partnership with Pyongyang.
The U.S. and China reportedly resumed semiofficial nuclear arms talks in March.
The White House fired back at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the public feud between the two sides escalates.
And Chinese President Xi Jinping is echoing the country’s late ruler, Mao Zedong, with his declaration that the Communist Party must maintain full control over the nation’s weaponry.
The Russian president saved some of his harshest rhetoric for the tail end of his Asia tour, which included a stop in Vietnam and a historic meeting in Pyongyang with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
The Russian leader, seemingly emboldened by the warm welcome he received in both Pyongyang and Hanoi, took aim Friday at NATO and South Korea. Washington Times Asia Editor Andrew Salmon is tracking the latest threats from Mr. Putin, who hinted at a possible Russian military response to closer NATO ties with Asian nations such as South Korea.
“We see what is going on in Asia: The bloc system is being put together, NATO is practically moving there permanently,” Mr. Putin said. “This, of course, poses a threat to all countries in the region, including Russia. We are obliged to respond to this, and we will do so.”
Mr. Putin also described the situation on the Korean peninsula as a “simmering crisis.” He said the military partnership deal he signed with Mr. Kim this week is a deterrent to any conflict in the region. The deal suggests that Russia and North Korea would come to the other’s aid in the event of war.
The rapidly evolving Putin-Kim partnership has sparked deep concern in both Washington and Seoul. In South Korea, the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the Russia-North Korea mutual military aid deal. And on Friday, South Korean officials summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the defense pact. The South Korean military also revealed that on Thursday, it had fired warning shots to repel North Korean soldiers who temporarily crossed the rivals’ land border for the third time this month.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said it was “incredibly concerning” that Mr. Putin suggested Russia could provide arms directly to North Korea.
“It would destabilize the Korean Peninsula, of course, and potentially … depending on the type of weapons they provide, might violate U.N. Security Council resolutions that Russia itself has supported,” Mr. Miller told reporters.
Despite the clear concern, there are major outstanding questions about the true nature of the Russia-North Korea military alliance. Mr. Salmon has a deep dive on whether the two nations’ militaries are ready for joint exercises, high-level interoperability and other steps needed for a true armed forces partnership.
Russia is in year three of its war on Ukraine. Mr. Putin is now issuing threats across Asia. And Moscow also has its eye on space as a potential battleground.
For the U.S., a new Cuban Missile Crisis may be on the horizon. But instead of Russian nuclear warheads parked just 90 miles from Florida, the Kremlin now wants to put them in low-earth orbit, where they could threaten critical American satellites.
That was the warning Thursday from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Turner, Ohio Republican, who told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington that a Russian nuclear device in low-earth orbit would be disastrous for America. Mr. Turner previously discussed the issue with Mr. Taylor as part of the Threat Status Influencers video series.
Elsewhere in Washington, other lawmakers also warned of the threats emanating from Moscow. Sens. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, introduced a resolution to designate the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism. The expanding Russia-North Korea partnership was the driving factor behind the move, the two senators said.
The state sponsor of terrorism designation would trigger more aggressive sanctions, such as export controls, a ban on foreign aid and restrictions on access to international financing. In addition to North Korea and Iran, Cuba and Syria are the only other nations with the designation.
National Security Correspondent Bill Gertz is tracking the troubling new rhetoric coming from Beijing.
The Chinese president this week urged the People’s Liberation Army to maintain Chinese Communist Party political control over the “guns” of the nation, an echo of the country’s late ruler, Mao Zedong.
Mr. Xi said in a speech at a former revolutionary military base in the central part of the country that the military must eliminate conditions that “breed corruption,” an endemic problem for the People’s Liberation Army.
“We must make it clear that the barrels of guns must always be in the hands of those who are loyal and dependable to the party,” Mr. Xi said.
Mr. Xi’s address came on the heels of major escalation in China’s aggressive actions toward the Philippines. U.S. lawmakers, keenly aware of the growing threat China poses across the Indo-Pacific, are seeking to shore up America’s alliances in the region.
Rep. Michael McCaul, Texas Republican and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led a bipartisan delegation to India this week and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India, along with the U.S., Australia and Japan, form the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or “Quad,” a four-nation alliance designed to maintain a free and open Pacific region.
Mr. McCaul said he told Mr. Modi that “together we can send a powerful message of deterrence to the Chinese Communist Party, because when the world’s two largest democracies stand together, freedom and liberty win out over tyranny and oppression.”
The Russian president saved some of his harshest rhetoric for the tail end of his Asia tour, which included a stop in Vietnam and a historic meeting in Pyongyang with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
The Russian leader, seemingly emboldened by the warm welcome he received in both Pyongyang and Hanoi, took aim Friday at NATO and South Korea. Washington Times Asia Editor Andrew Salmon is tracking the latest threats from Mr. Putin, who hinted at a possible Russian military response to closer NATO ties with Asian nations such as South Korea.
“We see what is going on in Asia: The bloc system is being put together, NATO is practically moving there permanently,” Mr. Putin said. “This, of course, poses a threat to all countries in the region, including Russia. We are obliged to respond to this, and we will do so.”
Mr. Putin also described the situation on the Korean peninsula as a “simmering crisis.” He said the military partnership deal he signed with Mr. Kim this week is a deterrent to any conflict in the region. The deal suggests that Russia and North Korea would come to the other’s aid in the event of war.
The rapidly evolving Putin-Kim partnership has sparked deep concern in both Washington and Seoul. In South Korea, the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the Russia-North Korea mutual military aid deal. And on Friday, South Korean officials summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the defense pact. The South Korean military also revealed that on Thursday, it had fired warning shots to repel North Korean soldiers who temporarily crossed the rivals’ land border for the third time this month.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said it was “incredibly concerning” that Mr. Putin suggested Russia could provide arms directly to North Korea.
“It would destabilize the Korean Peninsula, of course, and potentially … depending on the type of weapons they provide, might violate U.N. Security Council resolutions that Russia itself has supported,” Mr. Miller told reporters.
Despite the clear concern, there are major outstanding questions about the true nature of the Russia-North Korea military alliance. Mr. Salmon has a deep dive on whether the two nations’ militaries are ready for joint exercises, high-level interoperability and other steps needed for a true armed forces partnership.
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