The White House said that North Korea will face consequences if it sells weapons to Russia for its Ukraine war, after the US warned that Pyongyang and Moscow are close to an arms deal.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that the US thinks the talks between North Korea and Russia are “moving forward”.

Sullivan said that North Korea will suffer in the international community if it gives weapons to Russia for its Ukraine war. He said that Russia is using the weapons to attack grain silos and heating systems of big cities in winter, and to take over land that belongs to a modern country.

He spoke after another US official said on Monday that Washington thinks that Kim Jong Un will meet with Vladimir Putin soon.

The Kremlin did not say anything about the US claims. It said it had “nothing to say” about possible talks between the two leaders.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s Defence Minister, went to North Korea and saw Kim in July. Kim and Putin also wrote letters to each other last month, promising to make their ties stronger.

On Tuesday, Vedant Patel, a US Department of State spokesperson, also told North Korea not to give weapons to Russia. He said that Russia had to look for weapons from Pyongyang because the US sanctions over the Ukraine war worked.

“Russia is looking desperately around the world for weapons it can use in its Ukraine war because our sanctions and export controls have hurt them,” Patel said.

He did not say what the US would do to Pyongyang if it sent weapons to Moscow. But he said the US would “do what is needed” with its partners.