US Reminds North Korea Of The Consequences Of Arms Supply To Russia

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - The United States has warned North Korea will suffer the consequences of any Russian weapons supply used in Ukraine, when Moscow's arms negotiations with Pyongyang are considered to be progressing.

Giving arms to Russia "will not have a good impact on North Korea and they will suffer the consequences in the international community," US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House.

The Kremlin said earlier on Tuesday it "does not say anything" about the statements of US officials that Leader Kim plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss the supply of weapons to Moscow.

Leader Kim estimates discussions about weapons will continue, Sullivan said, including at the leadership level and "even maybe in person".

"We continue to suppress the base of the Russian and Moscow defense industries now looking for whatever sources they can find for things like ammunition," Sullivan said.

"We will continue to call on North Korea to comply with its public commitment not to supply weapons to Russia which will eventually kill Ukrainians," Sullivan continued.

Earlier, US National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson on Monday said Leader Kim and President Putin might plan to meet, and the New York Times quoted unnamed US officials and allies as saying North Korean leaders plan to travel to Russia as early as next week to meet the Russian president.

When asked if he could confirm the conversation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No, I can't. There's nothing to say."

Meanwhile, a North Korean defense ministry official in November said Pyongyang had "never made a "gun deal" with Russia" and had "no plans to do that in the future."

Separately, North Korean expert at Seoul Kookmin University Andrei Lankov said Leader Kim may want to emphasize Russia's sense of support, and may seek an agreement on arms sales, aid and workers' delivery to Russia.