President Putin Says Russia Has The Right To Supply Weapons To Other Countries, Including North Korea?

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday his country had the right to send weapons to other countries in the world, without excluding North Korea, having previously said it would send weapons to Western enemies in response to arms supply to Ukraine.

That was conveyed by President Putin to reporters in Vietnam, the day after he visited North Korea and signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Leader Kim Jong-un.

"I said, including in Pyongyang, that we are then entitled to supply weapons to other regions of the world. By considering our agreement with (North Korea), I also do not rule this out," he said.

The agreement signed by President Putin and Leader Kim on Wednesday requires each party to provide immediate military assistance to other parties in the event of armed aggression against one of them.

President Putin said Moscow hopes its cooperation with North Korea will serve as a deterrent for the West, but there is no need to use North Korean soldiers for war in Ukraine.

"Regarding the possibility of using each other's capabilities in the conflict in Ukraine, we are not asking anyone for this, no one is offering this to us, therefore it is not necessary," he said.

Earlier, President Putin spoke with senior editors of the international news agency in St. Petersburg earlier this month said Moscow was considering providing advanced long-range weapons, which are similar to those given by the West to Ukraine, to Western enemies around the world. It refers to long-range missiles supplied to Ukraine by the US and Britain.

"We think, if someone thinks it's possible to supply such weapons to the war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, then why don't we have the right to supply our weapons of the same class to regions of the world, where there will be attacks on sensitive facilities of countries doing this to Russia?" President Putin said.

"So the response can be symmetric. We will think about it," he said.

It hinted the Kremlin could supply weapons to US enemies such as Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria that periodically launch rockets and drones to US troops. However, it is not clear who it will provide weapons in the UK case.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV he believed President Putin's warning had been heard in the West, where he said the warning had been studied.

"They need to take our place and our position. We will not sacrifice our interests," Peskov said.

The United States and Ukraine say North Korea has provided Russia with a large amount of artillery shells and ballistic missiles. These allegations are firmly denied by Moscow and Pyongyang.