By Daniel DePetris
On Thursday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby delivered a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un: the United States knows what you're doing, and it urges you to cease and desist.
The subject of consternation: North Korean weapons supplies to the Russian military, which over the last three months has been trying to defend against a Western-supplied Ukrainian counteroffensive along the 600 mile-long front line. "Under these potential deals Russia would receive significant quantities and multiple types of munitions from [North Korea], which the Russian military plans to use in Ukraine," Kirby told reporters during a White House briefing. "These potential deals could also include the provision of raw materials that would assist Russia's defense industrial base."
This piece was originally published in Newsweek on September 1, 2023. Read more HERE.