Biden Discusses With Allies ‘Dangerous’ Cooperation Between Russia and North Korea

The president said stronger ties with South Korea and Japan are working, but did not address whether President-elect Donald J. Trump would continue his approach when he takes office in January.

President Biden expressed concern on Friday about what he called “dangerous and destabilizing cooperation” between North Korea and Russia, as he met with the leaders of South Korea and Japan at the global summit of Asia Pacific leaders in Peru.

In a joint statement, Mr. Biden, Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister of Japan, and President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea, said they “strongly condemn” the cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including the decision by North Korea to send thousands of troops to Russia to help President Vladimir V. Putin in his war with Ukraine.

“Deepening military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including munitions and ballistic missile transfers, is particularly egregious given Russia’s status as a Permanent Member of the U.N. Security Council,” the three leaders said, using an acronym for North Korea. “We remain resolute as ever in supporting Ukraine as it exercises its inherent right to self-defense as enshrined in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter.”

A senior American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the discussions during the 40-minute closed-door session, said that the issue of Russia-North Korea cooperation dominated the discussion between the three leaders.

The president and his aides have said in recent weeks that they are deeply worried about actions by Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s leader, including the dispatching of troops to Russia and new testing of a long-range ballistic missile.

On Tuesday, Mr. Biden said those developments must be countered by close coordination with allies in the region. Flanked by Mr. Ishiba and Mr. Yoon, Mr. Biden expressed confidence in new security and economic cooperation that the three nations announced during a summit last year at Camp David.

“I am proud to have helped be one of the parts of building this partnership,” Mr. Biden said. He did not mention the possible impact of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s return to the White House, but he noted that Friday’s meeting would be his last with the group.

“I think it’s built to last. That’s my hope and expectation,” Mr. Biden added.

Aides said Mr. Trump’s name did not come up during the meeting of the three leaders. The senior official said that the administration is focused on “the here and now” and is not dwelling on how Mr. Trump might undo what Mr. Biden and his aides have put into place during the last four years.

But his election has still loomed over Mr. Biden’s visit to Peru, his last major trip abroad to meet with world leaders before his term ends in January. The president is scheduled to leave Peru on Sunday for a brief stop in the Amazon rainforest before heading to Rio de Janeiro for a second summit of the Group of 20 nations.

Neither Mr. Biden nor his top national security officials have speculated over what parts of the president’s foreign policy approach will be discarded by Mr. Trump, who has embraced an “America First” philosophy and criticized nearly all of Mr. Biden’s approach to the world.

On Friday, Mr. Biden said only that “we’ve now reached a moment of significant political change.”

Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday that officials in all three countries were prepared to work toward making the close cooperation between them an “enduring feature of American policy in the Indo-Pacific going forward.”

That will include the establishment of a “secretariat” to make the security and economic arrangements permanent. Mr. Sullivan said he expects that to have bipartisan support, adding: “We fully expect that it would continue under the next administration — though, of course, they’ll make their own decisions.”

Mr. Biden organized last year’s Camp David summit as a response to increasing North Korea aggression in the Asia Pacific region, among other issues. Since then, the rogue nation has added to those concerns by moving closer to Russia. Administration officials have said for months that they believe Mr. Kim has been supplying small arms and ammunition to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.

Last week, American and Ukrainian officials said thousands of North Korean troops had joined Russian soldiers for what is believed to be an assault in western Russia aimed at retaking territory seized by Ukraine in the Kursk region in recent months.

The addition of North Korean troops appears to have helped Mr. Putin as he prepares to mount the counteroffensive without having to shift any of his forces away from the fighting in the eastern parts of Ukraine. Officials have said they are also concerned that, in return, Russia may help North Korea improve its nuclear capabilities and missile technology.

“The possibility of a seventh nuclear test remains ever-present,” Mr. Sullivan told reporters. “It’s something we’re vigilant for. Transitions have historically been time periods when the DPRK has taken provocative actions, both before and after the transition from one president to a new president. So, that’s something we are watching very carefully and will be watching every day between now and January 20th.”

Our Coverage of the War in Ukraine

• North Korea’s Military: Kim Jong-un, the country’s leader, ordered mass production of drones, which are becoming an increasingly important addition to the country’s growing arsenal.
• Kyiv Missile Attack: Russia launched a volley of missiles aimed at Kyiv, ending a more than two-month pause in such attacks on the Ukrainian capital.
• Blinken Visits NATO: Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels as Europe braces for the anticipated upheaval of a new Trump era in Washington.

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