Weapon Tests Precede Russian Official’s Visit… Kim’s Messages to Allies and Enemies

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North Korea tested new weapons ahead of the arrival of a Russian security official, sending messages to both allies and enemies under various guises.

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On Friday, North Korea announced it had tested a new weapons system aimed at enhancing its combat readiness, while Russian National Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu arrived in Pyongyang for talks with Kim Jong-un.
The two traditional allies, Russia and North Korea, have grown closer since the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022. Seoul has accused Kim of sending thousands of soldiers and weapons shipments to assist Russia in fighting Ukrainians.

Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have officially confirmed the deployment of troops, but the two countries signed a military agreement last year, including a mutual defense clause, during Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s rare visit to nuclear-armed North Korea.

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The Latest Episode

Russian news agency TASS reported on Friday that Shoigu had arrived in North Korea, marking the latest in a series of high-level exchanges between the two countries recently.
Shoigu is scheduled to meet with North Korean leader Kim and other officials, according to reports from both TASS and Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Kim supervised the test of the latest anti-aircraft missile system, according to the Korean Central News Agency on Friday, without specifying when the test occurred.
It quoted Kim as saying the test showed that the North Korean military “will be equipped with another key defensive system, demonstrating commendable combat performance.”

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The announcement came one day after the conclusion of the annual joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, called “Freedom Shield,” which Pyongyang condemned in a separate statement on Friday, calling them a “drill for aggressive war.”

Provocation

Military drills between the United States and South Korea typically provoke North Korea, which attacked its neighbor in 1950, triggering the Korean War.
Last week, Seoul reported that North Korea had launched “several unspecified ballistic missiles” after the joint drills began, which involved American troops stationed in South Korea.

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Pyongyang also conducted a test of strategic cruise missile launches in the Yellow Sea in late February, claiming it showcased its “capabilities to carry out retaliatory strikes.”

The recent “Freedom Shield” exercise focused on countering weapons of mass destruction, specifically targeting nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological threats.

Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have hit their lowest levels in years, with the North launching a barrage of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.

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Intended for Russia?

Defector-turned-researcher and head of the “Global Institute for North Korean Studies,” Ahn Chan-il, told AFP that the recent missile launches appear to be “tests of weapons intended for export to Russia to be used in Ukraine.”
He added that Pyongyang is exploiting the Washington-Seoul drills as a pretext to develop and export such weapons to Moscow.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have reported that over 10,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia last year to assist in facing a surprise Ukrainian offensive on the Kursk border area.

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Last month, South Korea’s intelligence agency indicated that North Korea had sent more troops and redeployed some to the front lines in Kursk.

South Korea also accused its northern neighbor of sending containers filled with weapons to Russia, while a recent report from South Korea’s Ministry of Defense stated that the North “continues to provide weapons, ammunition, and other forms of military support to Russia after deploying its troops in the Ukraine war.”

Hong Min, a senior analyst at the “Korea Institute for National Unification,” told AFP that North Korea’s repeated weapon tests aim to “showcase the development of weapons with strategic significance.”

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He added, “If North Korea improves its missile interception and air defense capabilities through technological cooperation with Russia, it could have a significant impact on South Korea’s defense plan based on the ‘kill chain’ principle.”

He continued, “North Korea could specifically get help for its fragile radar systems and field command vehicles from Russia.”

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