North Korea has delivered arms to Russia’s Wagner group: White House

WASHINGTON: North Korea has delivered arms to Russia´s private military group Wagner, the White House said on Thursday, calling the group a “rival” for power to the defense and other ministries in the Kremlin.

The US will boost sanctions on the Wagner group following North Korea´s sale to it of infantry rockets and missiles last month, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.

“Wagner is searching around the world for arms suppliers to support its military operations in Ukraine,” Kirby told reporters. “We can confirm that North Korea has completed an initial arms delivery to Wagner, which paid for that equipment,” he said.

Kirby said the Wagner group, which is independent of the Russian defence establishment and is leading a bloody siege of Bakhmut, Ukraine, is spending more than $100 million each month in its Ukraine operations.

“Wagner is emerging as a rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian ministries,” Kirby said.” We can confirm that North Korea has completed an initial arms delivery to Wagner, which paid for the equipment.

Last month, North Korea delivered infantry rockets and missiles into Russia for use by Wagner,” the official said, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity. The US assessment, based on intelligence to be unveiled publicly on Thursday, is that the amount of material delivered by North Korea will not change battlefield dynamics in Ukraine, “but we are concerned that North Korea is planning to deliver more military equipment to Wagner,” the official said.

US officials believe North Korea’s arms delivery is a direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and they plan to raise this with the Security Council. Pyongyang has built ballistic missiles capable of striking almost anywhere on earth, weapons experts say, as well as shorter-range weapons.

The official said Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly turned to the Wagner Group, owned by his ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, for help in Ukraine, where Russian forces have stumbled in their bid to topple the Kyiv government.

The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled new curbs on technology exports to the Wagner Group in a bid to further choke off supplies to the contractor. More sanctions are coming in the weeks ahead against the Russian company and its support group in countries around the world, the official said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian businessman Prigozhin is spending more than $100 million per month to fund Wagner’s operations in Ukraine, but has encountered problems recruiting Russians to fight there.

The United States estimates that Wagner has 50,000 personnel deployed in Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts recruited from Russian prisons, the official said. The Wagner Group, staffed by veterans of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Mali, among other countries.