North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has traveled to Russia. He is also scheduled to meet Russian President Putin there in the coming days. What do they both hope to achieve from this summit of dictators?
Kim Jong Un rarely travels abroad. Now, according to the Kremlin, the North Korean leader is expected to make an official visit to Russia “in the coming days” at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. North Korea’s state news agency KCNA confirmed an imminent meeting. The USA suspects Moscow of wanting to buy North Korean weapons for its offensive in Ukraine. An Overview of Russian-North Korean Relations:
What does North Korea have to offer Russia?
“North Korea probably has the largest stockpile of old Soviet-era artillery shells that could replenish Russian stocks depleted by the Ukraine conflict,” says Joseph Dempsey of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think tank.
The expert explains that the more modern North Korean weapons are less suitable for the Russian army. It is also unclear whether these can be produced in larger quantities. According to the US government, North Korea supplied rocket launchers and rockets to the Russian Wagner mercenary force last year. Pyongyang denies this.
What does North Korea expect from Russia?
Russia has much that impoverished North Korea, which is subject to international sanctions because of its nuclear and missile programs, needs. “Russia exports food, fertilizer and energy,” said Cho Han Bum, a researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute of National Unification. “Key technologies, knowledge and production capacities for the further development of the North Korean defense industry” are also of interest to Pyongyang, says Dempsey.
A UN report from last year spoke of a North Korean diplomat in Moscow who had procured technology for ballistic missiles and also tried to obtain 3,000 kilograms of steel for submarines.
What is the relationship between North Korea and Russia?
Moscow has been a close ally of North Korea since its founding 75 years ago and a key supporter of the isolated country for decades. However, the Soviet Union reduced the flow of funds when Pyongyang began to reconcile with Seoul in the 1980s. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 hit North Korea hard and bilateral relations stagnated.
The first summit between the Russian Federation and North Korea took place only in 2000. Putin and the then ruler Kim Jong Il agreed primarily on economic cooperation and diplomatic exchange. Kim’s son Kim Jong Un finally made his first official visit to Russia in 2019 when he sought Moscow’s support amid the nuclear dispute with Washington.
Pyongyang supported the Russian attack on Ukraine from the beginning. In July, Putin recently praised North Korea’s “resolute support for the special military operation against Ukraine.”
North Korea
Kim’s big propaganda parade – with Russia as the guest of honor
What would an agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang mean?
UN Security Council resolutions, which Moscow also agreed to, ban arms deals with Pyongyang. The United States, Britain, South Korea and Japan made clear last week that any agreement on increased cooperation between Russia and North Korea would violate those resolutions.
Cheong Seong Chang, North Korea expert at the South Korean Sejong Institute, therefore assumes that Kim and Putin will probably conclude a deal “behind closed doors and without official announcement.” If North Korea and Russia initiate arms deliveries, it is the “responsibility of the international community” to hold the two states accountable, says Cheong.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
