Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit North Korea this week for his second meeting in nine months with its leader, Kim Jong Un, as the two countries deepen military ties, with North Korean weapons supporting Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Putin last visited North Korea in 2000, becoming the first Russian or Soviet leader to do so. The trip, which begins on Tuesday, underscores North Korea’s growing strategic importance to Putin, particularly because of its ability to supply Russia with much-needed conventional weapons for the war in Ukraine.
Kim Jong-un met with Putin in Russia’s Far East last September, ushering in a new era in relations between the two countries.
For Kim, it was a rare moment in which his country, seen as a pariah by the West, is sought as an ally. For Russia, it was strengthening ties with a country that provided much-needed ammunition for the war in Ukraine.
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The two countries announced the two-day visit on Monday. “At the invitation of North Korean President Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin will pay a friendly state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from June 18 to 19,” the Kremlin said. Putin will arrive in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on Tuesday evening and hold a meeting on Wednesday, a presidential aide told Russian state media.
The announcement came days after the Kremlin vowed to step up cooperation with North Korea “in all areas”.
Pyongyang and Moscow were Cold War allies whose ties cooled after the Soviet Union collapsed but have grown closer again in the past few years over their shared hostility toward the United States — in Russia’s case over the war in Ukraine, and in North Korea’s case over its nuclear weapons program.
As the war in Ukraine continues, Russia is in desperate need of conventional weapons, especially artillery shells. North Korea has a lot to offer. In return, Kim Jong-un wants to upgrade his own weapons systems, and Russia has advanced military technology and other assistance to share.
U.S. and South Korean officialsexpressNorth Korea has sent thousands of containers of arms to Russia since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. They say Moscow has reciprocated with thousands of containers filled with economic aid and other assistance.
In the weeks leading up to Putin’s visit, Kim Jong-un flaunted what he could offer Putin. He toured North Korean arms factories last month, praising them for increasing production and showing off warehouses filled with short-range ballistic missiles – similar to those used by Washington.AllegedRussia launches missiles at UkraineNorth Korean missilessimilar.
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Both Moscow and Pyongyang deny carrying out arms trade, which is prohibited by UN sanctions. But at a G7 summit in Italy last week, G7 leaders expressed concerns “in the strongest possible terms” that the United States and China were in a “strong position” to fight the arms trade.condemnGrowing military cooperation between the two countries includes Pyongyang’s export of ballistic missiles and Russia’s use of those missiles against Ukraine.
“President Putin’s visit means that Russia really needs” North Korean weapons because of the war in Ukraine, South Korea’s national security adviser, Chang Ho-jin, told Yonhap News Television over the weekend. “North Korea will try to get as much in return as possible because the situation looks favorable to them.”
Jang said South Korea had warned Moscow before Putin’s visit that it “should not cross certain lines.” He did not elaborate. But some analysts in South Korea have speculated that North Korea may seek Russia’s help in improving its nuclear weapons capabilities during Putin’s visit and try to revive its Cold War-era military alliance with Moscow.
Before the war in Ukraine created an opportunity for Kim Jong-un, his situation looked grim.
For years, the United Nations Security Council has implementedSanctionswhich has devastated North Korea’s economy. Kim Jong Un’s direct diplomacy with President Trump ended in 2019 without a deal, and his attempts to lift sanctions failed.
Kim Jong-un’s countermeasuresyesIntensifyAdvancing nuclear weapons programs while envisioning a “new Cold War” in which the United States, Japan, and South Korea expand their military cooperationNorth Korea hopes to enhance its strategic value to China and Russia in Northeast Asia.
North Korea isPublic supportUkraine is one of the few countries that Putin has invaded. In return, Putin invited Kim Jong-un to the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East last year and said Russia could help North Korea launch satellites. Kim Jong-un wants satellites to better monitor his military targets, but has struggled to get satellites into orbit.Encountered difficulties.
During a visit to Russia last year, Kim toured sensitive Russian space and military facilities and at one point toasted with Putin to what he called their “holy struggle” against the “evil forces” of the West.
U.N. agreements prohibit Russia from providing military equipment to North Korea, but the Kremlin’s invitation to Kim Jong Un to high-tech facilities that build rockets and fighter jets highlights Russia’s ability to provide technology North Korea has long coveted in its standoff with the United States and its allies.
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Facing international pressure over his invasion of Ukraine, Putin has strengthened ties with U.S. adversaries around the world, including Iran, North Korea and Syria, creating challenges for Washington beyond Europe.
Closer cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has security implications for the United States and its allies. Defense experts say the use of North Korean missiles on the battlefield in Ukraine could provide North Korea with valuable data on how its missiles perform against Western missile defense systems.
“The trend toward deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea should be of great concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, upholding the global nonproliferation regime, and supporting the Ukrainian people in their fight to protect their freedom and independence against Russia’s brutal aggression,” the State Department said in a statement on Monday.
In Moscow on Monday, Putin continued his reshuffle of the military top brass, signing an order dismissing four deputy defense ministers who had served for years under former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. He also issued another order appointing four people without military backgrounds as deputy ministers.
Former deputy finance minister Leonid Gorin becomes first deputy defense minister as Putin works to ensure the massive defense budget is spent efficiently, continuing his efforts to reshape the military leadership with more economic expertise.Appointment of economistAndrei Belousov replaced Shoigu.
Pavel Fradkov, the son of a former Russian prime minister and a former Kremlin official, was appointed deputy defense minister in charge of construction.
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Closer ties between Russia and North Korea create a loophole in international efforts to curb Kim Jong-un’s efforts to earn hard currency through illegal activities.
In March this year, North Korean TVPlayKim Jong-un and his daughter were shown riding in the Russian Aurus limousine given to him by Putin.ThatIt was Putin who ignored the ban on exporting luxury goods to PyongyangTo Kim Jong-unState-sponsored hackers from North Korea useRussian Cryptocurrency ExchangesComeMoney LaunderingLast month, the White HouseexpressRussia has shipped more refined petroleum to North Korea than the Security Council limit.
South Korean analysts also worry that in return for North Korean weapons, Moscow might allow more North Korean workers to come to Russia to work, earning much-needed cash for Kim Jong Un.
Security Council resolutions prohibit importing such workers from North Korea. But this year, Moscow used its veto power on the Security Council to disband a U.N. panel of experts that monitors North Korea’s compliance with international sanctions, making it easier for North Korea to flagrantly violate those prohibitions.