Potential North Korea-Russia arms deal could violate UN resolutions, Japan warns
From CNN's Junko Ogura in Tokyo and Akanksha Sharma
Yoko Kamikawa speaks during a press conference at the foreign ministry in Tokyo on Thursday, September 14. Yoshio Tsunoda/AFLO/Reuters
Japan warned Thursday that any arms deal between North Korea and Russia following the meeting of their two leaders on Wednesday could potentially violate UN Security Council resolutions.
Tokyo is “closely monitoring the situation with concern," Japan’s new Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, who took office on the day of the meeting, told a press conference.
She said that any deal between the two countries "could lead to violations of related Security Council resolutions,” and expressed concern that the summit between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin could lead to North Korea giving weapons and other assistance to Russia.
She added that Japan would work closely with the international community, including the United States and South Korea, in monitoring for developments.
1:46 a.m. ET, September 14, 2023
Pyongyang and Moscow appear to be pursuing "some kind of military deal," South Korea warns
From CNN's Gawon Bae in Seoul, South Korea
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un visit the Cosmodrome Vostochny spaceport in the Amur Oblast of the Far East Region, Russia on September 13. KCNA/Reuters
South Korea has expressed “deep concerns” over possible military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow following the meeting of Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin at a space center in Russia.
South Korea’s Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said the two countries appeared to be pursuing “some kind of military deal,” pointing to Kim Jong Un’s recent visits to munitions factories in North Korea and his visit to Russia alongside top military officials.
The unification minister also referenced the recent visit by Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Pyongyang and Moscow's suggestion that it would support Pyongyang’s satellite development.
The comments come after US officials warned that Putin could use the summit with the North Korean leader to seek weapons after saying arms negotiations were "actively advancing" between the two countries.
“I cannot help but be deeply concerned about military cooperation and an arms deal,” Kim Yung-ho said.
The minister urged Pyongyang and Moscow to stop “illegal acts" that would lead the two countries to "isolation and regression on their own,” and to comply with international norms including the UN Security Council resolutions.
He warned that North Korea would face a "stronger response" from South Korea, the US and Japan, "the more it clings to its nuclear development."
South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu said Thursday the ministry was keeping "a close eye out" amid speculation that North Korea and Russia may hold a joint military drill in the future.
1:30 a.m. ET, September 14, 2023
Bridge closed as Russia reports 11 Ukrainian drones shot down over Crimea
From CNN's Pauline Lockwood and Olga Voitovych
Russian air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian drones over Crimea early Thursday morning, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The statement came as local authorities said the Crimean bridge had been closed to traffic.
“Those on the bridge and in the inspection area are asked to remain calm and follow the instructions of transportation security officers,” the Russian-run Information Center for Roads said in a statement on Telegram.
2:27 a.m. ET, September 14, 2023
Putin and Kim met in Russia. The takeaways are unclear but could have far-reaching implications
Analysis by Nathan Hodge
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un visit a construction site of the Angara rocket launch complex on September 13. Stringer/Getty Images
Covering a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might best be described as a caption contest: The two held what the Kremlin called “very substantive” discussions on Wednesday, but beyond a few photo opportunities, we still have very little idea what went on behind closed doors.
Back in July, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu went to Pyongyang with an apparent shopping list. After a year and a half of high-intensity combat in Ukraine, Russia’s ammunition stocks have been heavily depleted, and US officials warned that North Korea and Russia were mulling potential deals to replenish supplies for Moscow’s war on Ukraine. North Korea has a substantial arsenal on the Korean peninsula.
If this is what’s being hammered out in Russia – and we have seen no proof thus far that such a deal has been agreed – it would represent Pyongyang’s entry into a contest with the industrial bases of US and NATO members, which have been incrementally but steadily providing Ukraine with the ammunition it needs to slug it out with Russia. It’s a life-or-death race, with Putin apparently counting on support waning for Ukraine as the US enters a presidential election season.
And there’s the potential of something in return for Pyongyang. Putin appears to be extending a potential lifeline to Kim, apparently dangling the carrot of access to Russian technology.
On a visit to the cosmodrome, a reporter asked Putin whether Russia would help North Korea “launch its own satellites and rockets” – to which Putin responded, “That’s exactly why we came here.”
If Russia is handing over this launch technology to North Korea, then, the world may potentially be witnessing the wider global fallout of the largest land war in Europe since 1945. And the convergence of two pariah states may be playing out in unexpected and dangerous ways.
Russia says it has destroyed 5 Ukrainian underwater drones attempting Black Sea attack
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
Russian forces thwarted an attack by five Ukrainian underwater drones on the “fleet patrol ship Sergei Kotov" in the Black Sea on Thursday, according to Moscow's Ministry of Defense.
“In the course of repelling the attack, five enemy uncrewed boats were destroyed by fire from the ship's standard weapons,” the MOD said in a statement Thursday morning.
9:08 a.m. ET, September 14, 2023
It's early Thursday morning in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
Vladimir Putin meets with Kim Jong Un at the Cosmodrome Vostochny spaceport in the Amur Oblast of the Far East Region, Russia on September 13. KCNA/Reuters
The pair spent around five hours together, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Putin described the talks as "highly productive,” involving a “candid exchange of views” on both regional matters and bilateral relations.
Both leaders face international isolation; Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Kim over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.
They met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
At one point in their meeting, a reporter asked whether Russia would help North Korea "launch its own satellites and rockets" — to which Putin responded, "That's exactly why we came here."
"The leader of North Korea shows great interest in space, in rocketry, and they are trying to develop space. We'll show our new objects," Putin said.
Later, North Korea's state media KCNA reported that Kim had invited Putin to visit Pyongyang at a "convenient time," and that the Russian leader happily accepted the invite.
Meanwhile, the United States said it “will not hesitate to impose sanctions” if the meeting results in weapons transfers between the two countries. The US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Moscow's engagement with North Korea "shows how desperate Russia is."
Here are other headlines you should know:
Attack on Sevastopol: Ukrainian forces launched an extensive attack on a ship repair facility in the Crimean port of Sevastopol Wednesday, according to both the Russian defense ministry and Ukrainian accounts. Air defense forces shot down seven cruise missiles, and a patrol ship destroyed all the uncrewed boats, the Russian ministry said while acknowledging that “two ships under repair were damaged by enemy cruise missiles.”
Evacuations: More than 2,000 people have left the frontline Kupiansk district as of Wednesday, after a mandatory evacuation was ordered for 56 settlements on August 9, according to Kharkiv regional authorities. About 12,000 people were still living in the community as of Sunday, as opposed to the 57,000 people who lived there before Russia’s war on Ukraine, an official said.
Calls for tougher sanctions: A top Ukrainian official said that sanctions against Russia must be tougher and more sophisticated, after a new report that Moscow is evading international restrictions and increasing its missile production. The New York Times reported that “Russia subverted American export controls using its intelligence services and ministry of defense to run illicit networks of people who smuggle key components by exporting them to other countries from which they can be shipped to Russia more easily.”
Belarus: The European Parliament called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko “an accomplice" in the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine in a resolution adopted Wednesday. It also labeled Belarus a "satellite state of Russia" and suggested applying the same sanctions against Belarus as it currently does against Russia.
US aid oversight: The Pentagon is establishing a new team in Ukraine to monitor US security assistance to Kyiv, as a growing number of Republican lawmakers are calling for more oversight into how the money is being used. The Defense Department Inspector General said a senior US representative began work in Ukraine in late August, and additional personnel are expected to arrive by the end of September.
10:59 p.m. ET, September 13, 2023
European Parliament adopts resolution calling Belarusian president "an accomplice" in Russia's war crimes
From CNN's Mariya Knight
The European Parliament called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko “an accomplice" in the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine in a resolution adopted Wednesday.
“By enabling Russia’s unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, the Lukashenko regime has become an accomplice in the crimes committed by Russia, which implies responsibility for the destruction and damage caused to Ukraine,” the resolution reads, adding that “the special international tribunal on the crime of aggression perpetrated by Russia against Ukraine must have jurisdiction to investigate not only Putin and the Russian political and military leadership but also the Belarusian leadership.”
The European Parliament urged European Union institutions and members “to enable the criminal prosecution of Belarusian officials who are complicit in the crime of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide committed against Ukraine.”
It called for the establishment of an International Criminal Court country office in Ukraine and “to find legal pathways for seizing assets of the Belarusian leadership and related Belarusian entities involved in the Russian war effort” in order to support the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The European Parliament also called on EU member states to “broaden and strengthen the scope of their sanctions” against Russia. It suggested applying the same sanctions against Belarus as it currently does against Russia.
The parliament also called on Russia and Belarus to be put on “the EU’s high-risk third-country list with regard to combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.”
The resolution urged the International Olympic Committee and other international sports federations “not to allow athletes from Belarus and Russia to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games or any other international sports events.”
It also labeled Belarus a "satellite state of Russia" and condemned “the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons under Russian command on Belarusian territory,” which it said was made in violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and may trigger further nuclear redeployments in the region.
12:07 a.m. ET, September 14, 2023
Ukraine claims that North Korea is already supplying Russia with ammunition
From CNN's Mariya Knight in Atlanta
Andrii Yusov talks during an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 5. Kirill Chubotin/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Ukraine is claiming that North Korea is already supplying Russia with ammunition.
“We can say that cooperation continues between North Korea and Russia,” Andrii Yusov, representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, said in an interview with Ukrainian state media on Wednesday. He added that such intel between the countries is being intercepted and recorded.
Russian requests are mainly for projectiles for artillery and MLRS, Yusov said, referring to rocket launchers.
"This is an important factor that will be felt on the battlefield, unfortunately,” he said, adding that Ukraine is working on a proper reaction to such cooperation.
Yusof did not provide any evidence that North Korea is already supplying weapons to Russia nor has CNN verified any such supplies.
The comments come after United States officials warned that Russia and North Korea could make a potential arms deal that could see Pyongyang provide weapons for Moscow.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin met on Wednesday in Russia's Far East.
Afterward, Putin was asked if he discussed military-technical cooperation with Kim.
The Russian leader acknowledged certain restrictions in place, which he said Moscow fully complies with, but admitted there are areas open for discussion and consideration.
12:11 a.m. ET, September 14, 2023
Here's what you need to know about the summit between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un
From CNN's Helen Regan, Gawon Bae, Larry Register, Simone McCarthy and Anna Chernova
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un attend a meeting at the Vostochny Сosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on September 13. KCNA/Reuters
Vladimir Putin has said Russia is considering and discussing some military cooperation with North Korea, following a summit at which that country’s leader Kim Jong Un appeared to endorse Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
The leaders met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far east, as both countries face international isolation.
Moscow is in need of fresh supplies of ammunition and shells after more than 18 months of war in Ukraine has left its military battered, while North Korea, which has faced years of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, is short of everything from hard cash and food to missile technology.
Here's what happened at the summit:
Kim signaled support for Russia's invasion: Without naming Ukraine, Kim said the “Russian military and its people will inherit the shining tradition of victory” and demonstrate their reputation on the frontline of “military operation,” the euphemistic phrasing Moscow uses to describe its illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“I will always be standing with Russia,” Kim said, praising Moscow for having “stood up against the hegemonic forces” to defend its sovereignty and security, a veiled reference to the United States and the West.
What North Korea wants in return: Putin signaled a willingness to assist North Korea in developing its space and satellite program. North Korea has made space technology a priority — but has some ways to go, having tried and failed twice this year to launch a spy satellite into orbit.
Kim has also stressed the role of military satellites as a means to protect national safety and territorial stability and has spoken of their strategic value when deploying military force preemptively, North Korean state media reported in April.
Providing this technology to North Korea would be in violation of international sanctions, aimed at hampering Pyongyang’s ability to build a fully functioning nuclear weapons and ballistic missile force.
The meeting was at a space center: During the tour, the two leaders inspected the complex where Russia plans to launch its next generation of spacecraft. The facilities were built to receive launch vehicles, conduct pre-launch preparations, launches, and post-launch operations, state news agency TASS reported.
“Meeting at Russia’s eastern spaceport is particularly provocative because it suggests that Putin may offer sanctions-violating satellite launch technology in exchange for North Korean munitions that Moscow would employ in its illegal war in Ukraine,” Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, told CNN.
North Korea fires ballistic missiles: Hours before the summit, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Analysts say it’s unusual for Pyongyang to conduct a launch while Kim is out of the country. North Korea may be intending “to show that the military maintains readiness with uninterrupted command and control,” Easley, the professor of international studies, said.
