Ibrahim Traoré says military still using DPRK arms imported in 1985, pushing to revive security ties after recent coup
The West African nation of Burkina Faso wants to import more weapons from North Korea following their revival of ties earlier this year, the country’s leader said on Thursday.
During an extensive interview on national television (RTB), Ibrahim Traoré said that North Korea, like Russia, can serve Burkina Faso’s interests particularly in the fields of security and development.
“North Korea has many capabilities. And let’s be honest, in our army, up to this day we are still using weapons that North Korea gave us in 1985. We have to admit it,” Traoré said, when asked what he expects from the renewed alliance with the DPRK.
“We are still fighting with these weapons. Heavy weaponry, North Korean. They are still in service today among our armed forces,” he added. “So, if this cooperation … we wish to get more weapons from them, to fight.”
Traoré’s comments come after Ouagadougou announced in late March that authorities had “approved an agreement for the appointment of an ambassador of the DPRK to Burkina Faso,” indicating that this would facilitate weapons trade between the two countries.
Bilateral ties had previously cooled under democratically elected President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who announced a ban on all imports from North Korea due to U.N. sanctions in 2017. Traoré led a military coup that overthrew Kabore in October last year.
In Thursday’s interview, Traoré did not provide further details about the 1985 deal for North Korean weapons, such as the cost, amount and type of weapons delivered.
That deal came at what was likely the high point of Burkinabè-North Korean relations. That year, the revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara — often considered the father of the Burkinabè nation — traveled to North Korea on an official visit to meet the DPRK leader Kim Il Sung. Kim reportedly gifted Sankara an ivory pistol that he often carried around his waist.
Almost 50 years later, Burkina Faso military leader Traoré, often likened to Sankara by his supporters, has promoted a “strategic alliance” with countries like Russia, Turkey and North Korea.
“We have interests and we put these first,” he said in Thursday’s interview. “No matter the ally/country, our interests come first … we will cooperate with those who want to help us in this war, and accept to sell us equipment and to support us.”
After seizing power last year, Traoré vowed to regain the estimated 40% of the country’s territory lost to jihadist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State since 2015. The Burkinabè leader thus appears to be turning to historic allies such as North Korea for logistical and material support in his fight against extremist groups.
However, weapons trade from and to North Korea is forbidden under U.N. Resolution 2270, and it is unclear how Burkina Faso intends to import DPRK arms.
Source: NK News
