By TN Ashok in WASHINGTON
The recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un spells a “ Big Threat “ to the United States in the long run because what the latter received from the former is far more dangerous than North Korean give aways to Russia.
The unusual summit this week between Vladmir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on Russian soil has raised questions about what Russia might gain from a deal: weapons and ammunition to help in its war with Ukraine. But what North Korea receives in return could pose an even bigger threat to U.S. interests in the long run, US strategic affairs analysts were quoted in the US media as saying.
They say Kim − dubbed Little Rocket Man by then-President Donald Trump – will likely get Russia’s advanced satellite technology as part of the deal, empowering him to launch his distinctly anti-Western global ambitions into space, the fast-evolving new domain of warfare, media reports said.
North Korea’s access to Russian space and satellite technology concerns Washington combined with Pyongyang’s extensive ballistic missile arsenal, according to Anthony Ruggiero, counter-proliferation director on the White House National Security Council during the Trump administration.
IN the short run , this gives the most geopolitically sanctioned and isolated world leaders the ability to successfully launch and operate spy satellites after decades of trying. Kim is likely use them for military and intelligence-gathering purposes on the Korean peninsula, against U.S. allies like South Korea and Japan – and elsewhere around the world, Ruggiero and other North Korea watchers were quoted by the USA Today as saying.
Putin is getting desperate in Ukraine. His outreach to Kim Jong Un spotlights his weapons shortages, media reports said. As Kim toured Russia’s most modern space launch centre Wednesday, Putin vowed to help Pyongyang build satellites, an agency from UK reported. It also said the promised Russian aid comes as North Korea’s scientists have pledged to try another launch of its new Chollima-1 booster in October in an effort to put its first spy satellite into orbit.
Satellite technology that can also be used for nuclear weapons is what should be of concern to Washington, ageny reports in the US said. David Albright, a physicist, nuclear weapons expert and founder of the non-profit Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, said that Russia is trying to be coy by saying it would provide assistance to North Korea with general satellite technology only. But Albright told USA TODAY that Pyongyang could easily use the satellites for military applications too, and use the technology in its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea has built an huge arsenal of nuclear warhead-topped intercontinental ballistic missiles, that could easily reach the United States. However, the frigid temperatures and intense radiation in space would fry their circuitry, Albright said. The U.S., Russia and other advanced countries know how to protect their missiles by using the same technology that protects their satellites, which keeps them alive in space after launch to hit intended targets thousands of miles away.
If Russia were to share that kind of satellite technology to North Korea, it could also use it to make its missiles a potential threat to the U.S. homeland, Albright said.
“That’s the assessment of my institute and while I don’t think it’s shared as much in the public domain, it’s certainly shared among governments that we’ve talked to as well,” Albright said. “This would allow them to get closer to targeting a city in the United States.
Russian offer to North Korea is significant as the rogue nation has repeatedly failed to put its first military spy satellite into orbit. These satellites would not only complicate U.S. efforts to shore up deterrence on the Korean peninsula with South Korea, but these would also help Kim obtain “key weapons technologies to complete his drive for a survivable nuclear and ICBM capability to threaten the U.S. homeland.”
CNN said that there were crucial take aways in the meeting between the two leaders. While neither Putin nor Jong Un held a joint press conference and issued no communiqué, there was absolute secrecy on the deals that were clinched between Russia and North Korea. Figuring out the real takeaway from the summit in Russia’s Far East is going to be a challenge, even though the global stakes are quite high.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was in Pyongang with a shopping list. The Ukraine war lasting over one and half years has depleted Russia’s military stockpile 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 significant arms 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, CNN said quoting military expert.
“It’s a life-or-death race, with Putin apparently counting on support waning for Ukraine as the US enters a presidential election season.Putin is also betting and backing Trump victory at the 2024 elections to end American hostility towards his country