Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) leaves the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters earlier this month that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had attempted to “convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition” to Moscow during a recent trip to North Korea.

Last week, a U.S. official told the Associated Press the North Korean leader was expected to travel to Russia by the end of September. On Monday, the Kremlin announced that he would be arriving “in the coming days.”

To Coons, a close Biden administration ally, the U.S. intelligence leak of the trip underscores that the White House is “trying to deter them,or at least raise the cost” of the meeting by making it public, he said.

If Pyongyang ends up sending weapons to Moscow for its war efforts, it is “not going to reflect well on North Korea and they will pay a price for this in the international community,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters last week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.