Top US general describes Putin with 'tin cup in hand' asking North Korea for munitions
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approached North Korea "with a tin cup in hand asking for weapons munitions and support" amid his country's invasion of Ukraine, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC News' Martha Raddatz in a new interview.
However, Milley believes that if Russia succeeds in obtaining arms from North Korea, he doubts it will "make a substantive difference" in the war in Ukraine.
Raddatz's exit interview with Milley, who is retiring, will air on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.
Putin is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the coming days to talk "bilateral relations," according to Moscow.
On Monday, North Korea’s state news agency confirmed that Kim would meet with Putin in Russia and a South Korean official told ABC News that Kim was traveling by train to Vladivostok in eastern Russia for the expected meeting with Putin.
Putin is thought to be seeking ammunition from North Korea for Russia's howitzer artillery as it burns through its supply of rounds being used in the war in Ukraine. U.S. officials believe that in return, Russia may offer weapons technology that could assist North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.
U.S. officials have seized on the trip as evidence, they argue, of Putin's weakness as his war grinds on.
Speaking with Raddatz, Milley described how Putin's request of Kim "is an inverse of their previous relationship, which is pretty fascinating."
He noted that North Korea and Russia have had strategic ties dating back to the end of World War II,"so it's not a surprise that they have a relationship."
"Now, because of the war in Ukraine, Russia is having all kinds of challenges and one of their challenges is in munitions," Milley said.
"He'll probably get something," Milley said of Putin, when asked by Raddatz what he might obtain from the meeting. "I'm not sure how much or how fast, but he'll probably get something out of the North Koreans."
"But I don't know that they're gonna get so much that it'll make a substantive difference," Milley added.
