US Relying on Sanctions, Diplomacy to Tackle Russia-North Korea Trade, Official Says

A senior State Department official called rising weapons shipments between Russia and North Korea “deeply concerning,” saying the U.S. plans to continue using a combination of sanctions and diplomacy to try to disrupt trade between the two countries.

Jung Pak, who oversees the agency’s work on North Korea, said the nation has not only been sending ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, it also has been asking for military and dual-use items in return, such as fighter aircraft, surface to air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile technologies and more. “There's a lot that Russia can provide,” Pak said during an event this week hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“This is a pretty fraught moment, from my perspective, in terms of nonproliferation, what it means for actual war fighting, and what North Korea might be learning about their weapons systems,” she said, “because Russia is actually using it on the battlefield.”

Asked how the U.S. is trying to disrupt the partnership, Pak the Biden administration will continue to levy sanctions against North Korea this year. “Sanctions have to continue regardless. That's what we're obligated to do. Implement those sanctions,” she said. She also said the U.S. will “continue to press for dialogue," calling diplomacy “the art of the possible, and maybe the impossible, but we'll keep going at it.” Pak said she’s not expecting immediate results.

“This is not going to be solved overnight. A lot of people, a lot of smart people, have been working on this issue for a long time,” Pak said. “But I do believe that all of our efforts will ultimately have a cumulative effect.”

She said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “has been an all hands on deck effort for all of us” in the U.S. government. “When I took on this job in January of 2021,” Pak said, “I didn't think that I would be working on Russia nearly as much as I'm working on Russia right now.”