▲ Defense Minister Shin Won-sik heads for a meeting with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore, in this file photo taken June 2, 2024. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

defense minister-Putin-NK visit

Russia unlikely to transfer advanced military technology to N. Korea: minister

SEOUL, June 17 (Yonhap) -- The possibility of Russia transferring its most advanced military technology to North Korea is "very low" despite their deepening military cooperation, as Moscow will likely opt to save it as a "last resort," Seoul's defense chief said Monday.

"If Russia decides to transfer, that would mean Russia completely losing leverage over North Korea. So they will likely leave it as a last resort and I don't think North Korea has much to give Russia to entice it to give up on its last resort," Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said in a Bloomberg interview published earlier in the day.

Shin made the remarks amid views that Pyongyang and Moscow will seek to elevate their military ties beyond arms transactions during Russian President Vladimir Putin's impending visit to the North.

During the upcoming visit, Shin expected Putin to ask North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for more munitions and ballistic missiles for use in its war with Ukraine, noting that Seoul has detected at least 10,000 shipping containers delivered from the North to Russia.

In regards to views that Russia provided North Korea with technological assistance in developing military spy satellites, Shin said Moscow appears to have provided the engine technologies used for the North's botched launch attempt last month.

North Korea attempted to launch a second military spy satellite on May 27, but the space rocket carrying the satellite exploded shortly after liftoff. North Korea's state media attributed the failure to the operational reliability of a new "liquid oxygen plus petroleum" engine.

In the face of growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, Shin said he plans to soon meet with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts to sign a document aimed at bolstering their joint efforts against North Korean threats.

During their meeting in Singapore, held on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference earlier this month, the defense chiefs agreed to come up with the framework document for security cooperation and launch a trilateral multidomain exercise this summer.

"A priority would be to establish a system to more effectively, promptly and coherently respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, and to make that irreversible," Shin said in the interview.

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