Russia has proposed holding a trilateral naval exercise with North Korea and China, Yonhap reported, citing South Korea's intelligence agency.

The proposal came when Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu met with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in late July. Shoigu visited the North from Jul. 25 to 27.

Military cooperation

The update comes from a closed-door briefing held by South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Kim Kyou Hyun to the parliamentary intelligence committee, according to representative Yoo Sang Bum.

The briefing took place a few days after Russia's Ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, told Russian News Agency TASS that the idea of joint military drills with Russian and Chinese militaries "seems appropriate", though he added that he was merely expressing his personal opinion and was not aware if there was any such arrangement.

According to AP News, Kim had invited Shoigu to a major military parade in Pyongyang during the latter's visit to North Korea, vowing to deepen military cooperation with Moscow.

Quid pro quo

This could involve North Korea supplying arms to Moscow, with NIS reporting that the Russian government had requested North Korean authorities to provide them with ammunition and missiles.

Meanwhile, North Korean officials reportedly asked Russia to offer an analysis of the capabilities of weapons manufactured in the U.S. and European countries, and the technical findings on how to manage deteriorating weapons, Kyodo News reported.

Kim is expected to travel to Russia this month to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with arms supplication to Moscow anticipated to be one of the key points of discussions.

Increasing military provocation

When asked about North Korea's recent increasing military provocation, Yoo commented that they appeared to be in response to the recent U.S. and South Korean joint military exercise that took place from Aug. 21 to 31.

NIS also confirmed that North Korea had launched two short-range ballistic missiles last Wednesday (Aug. 30), adding that one succeeded while the other failed.

According to AP News, the missiles were launched hours after the U.S. flew long-range bombers for drills with its allies as an act of deterrence against the North.

In the same briefing, NIS Director Kim noted that North Korea's recent testing activities indicated that its warplanes were largely dependent on its tactical nuclear systems, aiming to achieve an immediate victory over the South should war break out, as its otherwise poorly-equipped military would "struggle" in a prolonged war.

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