Along with pledging to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia‘s invasion and to increase humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are entangled in Israel’s conflict with Hamas, the US and South Korea united behind joint strategies towards China, Russia, and North Korea on Thursday.

Blinken visits Seoul to hold discussions about North Korea’s military ties to Russia.

The State Department reports that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with President Yoon Suk Yeol and other leaders of South Korea to talk about the growing threat posed by North Korea and its purported supply of military hardware and ammunition to Russia to aid in its war against Ukraine. They also discussed how crucial it is for the US and South Korea to work together to address global concerns like the Middle East’s instability and China’s assertiveness.

Both of them voiced alarm over the DPRK’s provocations in the region and harshly condemned the DPRK’s transfer of weapons and military equipment to the Russian Federation for use in that nation’s conflict with Ukraine.  Other topics discussed at the Blinken-Yoon meeting included the significance of three-way cooperation between Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul as well as strengthening ties between South Korea and Japan, according to the State Department.

Blinken claimed to have discussed vague measures that both nations could take to put more pressure on Moscow to cease transferring military technology to North Korea in spite of repeated UN Security Council resolutions during a press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin.

Russian war efforts in Ukraine have reportedly benefited from artillery shells and other munitions supplied by North Korea, according to US and South Korean officials. These sources suggest that Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, may be considering offering Russia resources and technology in exchange for helping him update his own armed forces.

There is definitely two-way communication.  Blinken claims that the DPRK is providing Russia with military hardware in return for its brutal aggression against Ukraine and that Russia is providing the DPRK with technological support for its own military projects, putting Korea’s security at risk.

Blinken went on, “North Korea is using more and more reckless and menacing language.”  This is in reference to the nation’s increased missile testing in the past few months, which included what it described as tactical nuclear weapon-based simulated attacks on South Korea.

The DPRK has demonstrated that it is capable of ballistic missile deployment, missile launch, and the pursuit of WMDs—all flagrant transgressions of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions. They also pose a threat and cause instability.

Park claimed that Beijing would gain nothing from any potential armament alignment between Pyongyang and Moscow. Given that China is North Korea’s main ally and source of economic support, greater pressure should be applied to the North to stop its destabilizing activities. 

South Korean officials have made suggestions in recent weeks that North Korea might think about arming and supporting Hamas in other ways. North Korea has a history of providing Hamas with weapons and has blamed the US for the violence in Israel and Gaza.  Reporters were notified by the South Korean military last month that during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the group most likely used weapons and rocket-propelled grenades manufactured in North Korea. 

During the closed-door briefing last week, lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum disclosed that the South Korean spy agency’s top secret report suggested that North Korean leader Kim instructed officials to “comprehensively support” the Palestinians and that the North might be thinking about selling weapons to terrorist groups operating in the Middle East.

According to Park, we should denounce North Korea for any possible cooperation it may have with Hamas.  “There might be a link between the current circumstances on the Korean Peninsula and the escalating crisis in the Middle East.”

After the G7 foreign ministers met in Japan, Blinken arrived in Seoul with much of his agenda predetermined.