While speaking with reporters in Hanoi following his meetings with Vietnam’s leadership on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow could arm North Korea. Sending weapons to Pyongyang would be in response to the West’s greenlighting of Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia.

Putin arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday evening from Pyongyang, where he signed a strategic partnership treaty with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un. His trip to Vietnam has involved the strengthening of bilateral ties with Hanoi, including trade and nuclear energy cooperation, according to a report by RT. 

”We do not rule out supplying weapons to other countries, including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Putin said. “Let the West think where they might end up.”

The West continues to believe it can arm Ukraine with impunity and that Russia will never retaliate. They believe this because, so far, it’s been true. Russia has only responded with rhetoric.

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But what is a little concerning, is that Putin noted that Moscow is considering modifications to its doctrine on the use of atomic weapons, as the West appears to be working on low-yield weapons to lower the nuclear threshold.

“We don’t need a first strike,” he said in response to another question. “Because our return strike is guaranteed to destroy any attacker.”

When asked about the peace terms he offered Ukraine last week, Putin said that Russia has always been willing to negotiate, while Kiev and its Western backers sabotaged both the Minsk process and the Istanbul talks. However, the terms he outlined will not be valid forever, Putin cautioned.

”Our terms will change depending on the situation on the ground,” the Russian president said. –RT

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It seems inevitable that Russia would arm those who see the U.S. as an enemy since that’s what the U.S. continues to do via military interventionism.