NATO is concerned about the support that Russia may to prove about North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, the head of the alliance said on Tuesday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin began his first visit to the reclusive nuclear-armed country in 24 years.
Putin, who is on a state visit for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has pledged to deepen trade and security ties and back the North against the US, a close ally of its arch-rival South Korea.
The US accused North Korea of supplying "dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000 containers of ammunition to Russia" for use in Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a joint press briefing after talks with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that Russia's war in Ukraine is backed by China, North Korea and Iran, all of whom want to see the Western alliance fail .
"We are of course also concerned about the potential support that Russia is providing to North Korea when it comes to supporting their missile and nuclear programs," Stoltenberg said.
He said this and China's support for Russia's military economy showed how Europe's security challenges were linked to Asia, adding that next month's NATO summit in Washington would see a further strengthening of the Alliance's partnerships with Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan.
Stoltenberg said that at some stage there must be "consequences" for China.
"They cannot continue to have normal trade relations with countries in Europe and at the same time fuel the biggest war we have seen in Europe since World War II," he said.
Stoltenberg said it was too early to say what those consequences might be, "but it is an issue we need to look at because continuing as we are doing today is not viable.
On Monday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Washington was monitoring relations between North Korea and Russia "very, very closely" because "there could be some reciprocity ... that affects the security of The Korean Peninsula".
On Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre told a briefing that deepening cooperation between Russia and North Korea was "a trend that should be of great concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability. on the Korean Peninsula".
She noted that a statement by Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping from a summit in May emphasized political and diplomatic means as the only way to resolve the Korean issue, and added: "We hope this is a message that Putin will convey to Kim in their discussion."
At the briefing with Stoltenberg, Blinken said Putin's visit to Pyongyang was a sign of his "desperation" to strengthen relations with countries that may support his war in Ukraine.
He added that China's support has allowed Russia to maintain its defense industrial base, supplying 70 percent of Moscow's imports of machine tools and 90 percent of microelectronics. "This has to stop," he said.
Last week, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Washington was concerned about what Russia would give North Korea in exchange for weapons supplied by Pyongyang.
"Hard currency? Is it energy? Are they capabilities that allow them to develop their nuclear or missile products? We don't know. But we are concerned about it and are watching closely," he said.
The top US arms control official, Deputy Secretary of State Bonnie Jenkins, said she believed North Korea was interested in acquiring fighter jets, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, equipment or materials to make ballistic missiles and other modern technologies from Russia.