Antony Blinken warns of Russia-North Korea cooperation in space technology

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday expressed concerns over potential cooperation between Russia and North Korea, highlighting the possibility of Moscow sharing advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Seoul after discussions with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, Blinken warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin might be on the verge of reversing long standing policies by accepting North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

"We have reasons to believe that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology to Pyongyang. Putin may be close to reversing a decadeslong policy by accepting DPRK's (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) nuclear weapons programme," Blinken said in a joint press conference.

"That concern is very much a focus, not only for the United States, but also Korea and Japan," he added.

The remarks by Blinken came as North Korea fired a suspected hypersonic missile into the East Sea on Monday, ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, Yonhap reported.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported detecting the launch of a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) from the Pyongyang area around noon. The missile travelled approximately 1,100 kilometres before landing in the sea.

Although the missile's flight range was below the typical 3,000 to 5,500 kilometres covered by IRBMs, a JCS official noted that it appeared to share features with North Korea's intermediate-range hypersonic missiles tested in January and April last year.

Notably, Blinken is on a visit to South Korea, Japan, and France from January 4-9.

Earlier in the week, the US Department of State, in an official statement, said, "The Secretary will discuss how the United States and the ROK can strengthen key efforts to promote a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific, as well as trilateral efforts with Japan."

"In Japan, Secretary Blinken will meet with senior Japanese government officials to review the tremendous progress the US-Japan alliance has made over the past few years. Secretary Blinken will reaffirm the importance of the alliance in addressing a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues and continue to build on the momentum of US-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation," the statement added.