North Korean leader kim jong unHe fired the top general of his army and called for more preparations in the face of the possibility of war, a boost in weapons production and the expansion of military exercises. The chief of the General Staff, Pak Su-il, was replaced by General Ri Yong-gil, who is also the defense minister. Kim’s moves came up during a meeting of the military commission party headquarters, and after he visited the factories where he called for the construction of more missile engines, artillery and other weapons.
It also called for more military exercises to efficiently operate the latest in its arsenal, and equipment to maintain a mobilized combat posture at all times. North Korea will show off its new military technology in a militia parade on September 9, marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the republic: it feeds a large number of paramilitary groups that it uses to reinforce its forces of social control. Last week, Kim visited several of North Korea’s major arms factories, including facilities that make engines for strategic cruise missiles, and called for more production, some speculating his destination is for trade with Russia, his longtime partner. .
Russia
An unusual sighting of a russian military plane in North Korea raised concerns a week ago that Kim Jong-un is selling arms to Vladimir Putin as ties between the sanctioned states strengthen. Tracking data shows that the Russian Air Force plane flew from Moscow to Pyongyang on July 31 and returned on August 31.
Satellite images confirmed that the aircraft landed at the international airport of Pyongyang for about 36 hours, according to NK News, a North Korean news provider based in Seoul, the capital of the neighboring state that lives in constant tension. The flight was the first such Russian military VIP plane to North Korea since mid-2019, when Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin traveled to Pyongyang, NK News reported.
Agreements
The Russian Air Force plane’s trip came just days after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Pyongyang to attend a military parade organized by Kim. “It appears to be related to the follow-up to the Shoigu delegation visit and possibly the deals made with Kim,” NK News noted, adding that analysts “they speculated that the two might have made arms deals”.}
North Korea has been trying to revive its economy, largely by leveraging trade with China and evading international sanctions. Russia recently restarted oil shipments to North Korea for the first time since 2020, the United Nations said, following the earlier resumption of grain exports. It’s impossible to know what North Korea is sending in return, but both the US government and independent analysts suggested there was ammunition from stockpiles North Korea has amassed amid tensions with Seoul. For months, US officials have said that Moscow is seeking to replenish ammunition reserves depleted by its war in Ukraine.
Nuclear
In parallel, North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and produce nuclear material, evading United Nations sanctions aimed at cutting off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. A program that would also be financed with hacks: “A record level of cyber thefts in 2022estimated at $1.7 billion, at the hands of North Korean hackers, who continued to successfully target cyber cryptocurrencies and other financial exchanges,” the UN Security Council sanctions monitors wrote in their report. .
North Korea has been under UN sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs since 2006. Those measures have been strengthened over the years, but the 15-member body is now at a standstill as China and Russia push to to soften, in order to convince Pyongyang to return to the talks of denuclearization.
“Although the country’s borders remain largely closed, trade volumes increased, mainly due to the resumption of rail traffic. And a wide variety of foreign products have quickly reappeared,” the monitors wrote, adding that they continue to investigate illegal imports, which also come from Russia.
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