Coons warns of ‘devil’s deal’ during Kim’s visit to Russia

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) warned of a “devil's deal” between Moscow and Pyongyang as North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia on Monday, a potential exchange that U.S. officials have warned would escalate tensions with the West.

“He's desperate for more equipment, he's desperate for more support,” Coons said on MSNBC Monday morning, referring to Putin’s war efforts. “North Korea has a very large arsenal of artillery, of materiel. So, they may well make a devil's deal.”

That could include the Kremlin agreeing to provide more advanced technology to help Pyongyang build a nuclear-armed submarine or successfully launch intercontinental ballistic missiles, both which Kim “is eager to do,” the senator said.

In return, Moscow could receive access to significant stockpiles of artillery shells, though they probably wouldn’t be the highest quality, Coons said.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters earlier this month that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had attempted to "convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition" to Moscow during a recent trip to North Korea.

Last week, a U.S. official told the Associated Press the North Korean leader was expected to travel to Russia by the end of September. On Monday, the Kremlin announced that he would be arriving “in the coming days.”

To Coons, a close Biden administration ally, the U.S. intelligence leak of the trip underscores that the White House is “trying to deter them,or at least raise the cost” of the meeting by making it public, he said.

If Pyongyang ends up sending weapons to Moscow for its war efforts, it is “not going to reflect well on North Korea and they will pay a price for this in the international community,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters last week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.