Putin threatens to arm North Korea if the West continues to supply weapons to Ukraine

CNN —

Vladimir Putin has threatened to arm North Korea if Western countries continue providing military aid to Ukraine, as the Russia president’s new defense pact with Pyongyang sparked a series of diplomatic reverberations in the region.

Putin’s remarks, at the end of a state visit to Vietnam, capped off a week in which Moscow sought to rattle the West and project strength from a part of the world in which his influence still carries weight.

“Those who supply these weapons believe that they are not at war with us. I said, including in Pyongyang, that we then reserve the right to supply weapons to other regions of the world,” Putin told reporters Thursday at the end of his trip to Hanoi, in response to a question on whether the supply of Western long-range weapons could be considered an act of aggression.

“Where they will go next?” he said, suggesting those countries could then sell the weapons to Western adversaries.

The US called Putin’s remarks “incredibly concerning” in a briefing on Friday.

“It would destabilize the Korean Peninsula,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters, and “depending on the type of weapons they provide, might violate UN Security Council resolutions that Russia itself has supported.”

Russia and North Korea’s signing of a mutual defense pact this week sent ripples out across the region, with South Korea summoning Moscow’s envoy on Friday, and Japan and the United States voicing serious concern.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un ride an Aurus car in Pyongyang, North Korea.

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