SEOUL, Nov 21 Seoul claims that Russia could allegedly help the DPRK improve the engine systems for the launch vehicle to launch a military reconnaissance satellite, a military official told reporters in Seoul at a closed briefing.
Earlier, Japan's Maritime Safety Service reported that it had received notification from North Korea that it would launch a launch vehicle with a satellite between November 22 and December 1.
At a special time: visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Russia
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“There is information that after the summit of the leaders of Russia and North Korea (in the DPRK — editor's note), a team of specialists arrived. We believe that North Korea received some kind of assistance, we don’t know exactly what. “I assume that this was help with the launch vehicle’s engine systems, since during the first launch problems arose in the operation of the second stage engine and then in August in the operation of the third stage,” says an unnamed military official.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that accusations against Russia and the DPRK of illegal military-technical cooperation are unsubstantiated, Russia responsibly fulfills its international obligations, this does not interfere with “developing traditional relations of friendship and cooperation with its neighbors, including the DPRK, which have long historical roots «.
According to South Korean experts, it is unlikely that the changes affected the systems of the satellite itself or that Russia provided the DPRK with a “new satellite as a whole”, since further development it would be difficult in three months. Therefore, most likely, Russia allegedly helped North Korea with missile engine systems, the official claims.
According to him, from the times of the USSR to this day, the DPRK allegedly received a wide range of Soviet technologies and developments in the field of rocket engines in various ways, including through hacking. According to a military official, some of the technology was obtained through the purchase of weapons through third countries. It is believed that some Soviet developers also moved to the DPRK (both during the USSR and after its collapse) and played a «key role» in the development of North Korean missiles, the official said.
Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov called the US accusations against Russia and China of circumventing sanctions against the DPRK unfounded and unsubstantiated. He emphasized that each new such statement devalues the previous ones. Peskov stated that he does not comment on reports of arms supplies from the DPRK to Russia: there were many of them, they were groundless; North Korea is Russia's neighbor, and Moscow will continue to develop relations with Pyongyang in all areas.