The White House on Monday said that there was no indication of deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, while stressing the need for "denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula. "We haven't seen any indication that sort of defense cooperation has taken place," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said when asked about former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's reported remarks suggesting that North Korea could be supplied with the "latest" Russian weapons if South Korea sends weapons to Ukraine. Telling how the US revealed recently that North Korea had secretly provided Russia with artillery shells in its war against Ukraine, Kirby said: "We haven't seen anything that sort of broadens or deepens that." "We would argue that what needs to happen on the peninsula is the denuclearization, de-escalation of tensions, and providing capabilities in any context to make the security environment on the Korean Peninsula less secure and less stable is to no one's benefit," he told reporters at a briefing in Washington DC. Praising the assistance South Korea has provided to Ukraine, Kirby said: "I think it's worth noting (that) the Republic of Korea has already contributed more than $200 million, I think it's like $250 million, in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. They have really stepped up." "They have also been very vocal about condemning Russia's aggression and being out there in front on that, and we are very grateful for that," he added. "The Republic of Korea's support for Ukraine has been largely in the non-lethal category. Only President Yoon (Suk Yeol) and the Korean people can decide whether they want to change that and send additional or different kinds of capability," Kirby said. South Korea's Yoon will be hosted by US President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the US-South Korea alliance and to commemorate a mutual defense treaty signed in 1953. Yoon will also address a joint session of Congress on Thursday, making him the first South Korean president to pay a state visit to the US since 2011. After having bilateral meetings with US officials and attending public discussions, Yoon is set to return to Seoul on Saturday. - Ukraine and NATO NATO chief Stoltenberg on Friday visited Ukraine, where he said that all NATO allies agree Ukraine will eventually become part of the alliance. Asked about Stoltenberg's remarks and the US position on Ukraine's membership, Kirby said: 'We believe in NATO's open door. We also believe that NATO membership has to be a discussion between the country in question and the alliance." "Our focus right now is making sure that Ukraine can defend itself against a very active, very bloody, very violent invasion of their territorial integrity," he added.
Source: Anadolu Agency