Putin, North Korea Nuclear Weapons 'Deeply' Concerning: Ex-NATO Commander

Russia and North Korea's nuclear weapons are “deeply” concerning for the West and other nations across the globe, a former NATO commander said this week.

On Thursday, James Stavridis, a former four-star naval officer who once served as a Supreme Allied Commander at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Thursday to speak about a recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“In all seriousness, what we got to worry about deeply here…is the technology push that could enable the hermit kingdom to use those 50 or 60 or maybe 70 nuclear weapons, so it's the technology,” Stavridis said. “But it's also the intelligence. Putin can provide targeting, he can provide access to a satellite system that Russia owns and operates.”

“There's a package of high-tech incentives both actual physical technology for the nuclear program as well as intelligence, command and control. We got to be very concerned about this,” Stavridis added during his appearance.

The comments by Stavridis come shortly after a meeting between Putin and Kim on Wednesday, which was the Russian president's first visit to the country in 24 years, as the two leaders sought to strengthen their relations.

Russia has increasingly found it isolated from the West amid its invasion of Ukraine, which Putin launched in February 2022. The “special military operation” sparked rebuke from most of Europe. NATO which has long had a tumultuous relationship with Russia, views the invasion as unprovoked and as a potential threat to the rest of Europe.

Amid the backlash, Putin has worked to strengthen ties to other countries, including China and North Korea, both of which have famously tense relations with much of the West.

According to the Associated Press, Putin and Kim signed a deal during their meeting to pledge security to one-another if either faces “aggression” from any other countries.

During the visit, Kim said that he pledged “full support” for Russia's war in Ukraine, though it remains unclear exactly what this support would look like.

In addition to the comments from Stavridis, UK Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps also shared remarks on X, formerly Twitter, saying that the meeting between Putin and Kim should be seen as a “warning.”

“The bizarre scenes from Putin's North Korea visit should be taken as a warning. A new axis of tyranny is working to undermine our freedoms,” Shapps posted.

Prior to the meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Putin has “in desperation” tried to “develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine” during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Newsweek reached out to the US State Department via its website for comment. Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry via email for comment.