As of: February 20, 2024, 2:27 p.m
By: Erkan Pehlivan
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North Korea is probably supplying Russia with ammunition for the war in Ukraine.
As a thank you, ruler Kim Jong-un will probably receive a car as a gift.
Moscow - Russia and North Korea are largely isolated from the West and find it difficult to obtain Western technologies.
Moscow is therefore purchasing important military supplies from North Korea – and is grateful.
Now, according to information from Pyongyang, Russian President Vladimir Putin has given North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a Russian-made car as a gift - thereby presumably violating UN sanctions.
Kim was presented by the "President of the Russian Federation with a Russian-made car for his personal use," Pyongyang's state news agency
KCNA
reported on Tuesday (February 20) .
Kim's influential sister Yo Jong described the "gift" as "clear evidence of the special personal relationships between the top politicians of both countries."
Putin's car gift to Kim Jong Un: South Korea finds it "brazen"
The South Korean Unification Ministry condemned the gift as a violation of the sanctions against North Korea that Russia also decided on in 2017.
It was “brazen” for North Korea to make public sanctions violations, a ministry official told journalists.
Russia must also “be aware of its responsibility as a permanent member of the UN Security Council” in this matter.
Moscow should “prevent any action that undermines international norms.”
However, North Korean officials did not provide any information about which model series the vehicle that Putin is said to have given Kim belongs to.
Kim is known for his love of luxury cars, including Lexus SUVs and Mercedes-Benz S-Class cars.
According to a 2021 UN report, the government in Pyongyang attempted to ship luxury vehicles worth over $1 million from the United Arab Emirates to Ningbo, China, and then deliver them to North Korea.
During Kim's visit to Russia last September, Putin showed Kim a Russian luxury limousine from the Aurus brand, which also serves as the president's state car.
Russian President Vladimir Putin received North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the new Russian cosmodrome in Vostochny in Siberia on September 13, 2023.
© IMAGO/Sven Simon
North Korea supplies Russia with ammunition in the Ukraine war
Since the visit, both countries have significantly increased their cooperation.
A UN expert report recently said that North Korea imported significantly more goods in 2023 and expanded its trade with its new partner Russia.
The US government announced in October that North Korea had sent military equipment and ammunition to Russia for the war in Ukraine.
Pyongyang and Moscow are traditionally allies, but have significantly expanded their relations in the recent past.
At the beginning of February, a group of Russian tourists traveled to North Korea for a stay of several days - the first foreign group since the corona pandemic.
Putin's Russia needs weapons and ammunition from abroad
States such as the USA and South Korea accuse North Korea of supporting Russia with weapons and ammunition in its war of aggression against Ukraine.
Russia consumes huge quantities of bullets and, according to experts, cannot keep up with their domestic production.
North Korea, in turn, is subject to numerous UN sanctions because of its nuclear weapons and missile program - and, according to Western information, is relying on the transfer of Russian technology.
(
erpe/dpa/AFP
)