Why North Korea's Kim Jong Un may meet with Putin in Russia
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[September 05, 2023]
By Josh Smith
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may soon meet with
President Vladimir Putin and discuss potential arms deals, a U.S.
national security official has said, signalling deeper ties between the
two countries as they face off with Washington.
As Russia's isolation over its war in Ukraine has grown, analysts say it
has seen increasing value in North Korea. For North Korea's part,
relations with Russia haven't always been as warm as they were during at
the height of the Soviet Union, but now the country is reaping clear
benefits from Moscow's need for friends.
Here's how North Korea-Russia relations began, and how they are becoming
closer:
HOW DEEP ARE THE POLITICAL TIES?
Communist North Korea was formed in the early days of the Cold War with
the backing of the Soviet Union. North Korea later battled the South and
its U.S. and United Nations allies to a stalemate in the 1950-1953
Korean War with extensive aid from China and the Soviet Union.
North Korea was heavily reliant on Soviet aid for decades, and the
collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s contributed to a deadly famine
in the North.
Pyongyang's leaders have often tried use Beijing and Moscow to balance
each other. Kim initially had a relatively cool relationship with Russia
and China, which both joined the United States in imposing strict
sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear tests.
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After his country's most recent nuclear test in 2017, Kim took steps to
repair ties.
He met Putin in 2019 for the first time in the Russian city of
Vladivostok.
In a message for Russia's National Day in June, Kim vowed to "hold
hands" with Putin and bolster strategic cooperation.
Russia has joined China in opposing new sanctions on North Korea,
blocking a U.S.-led push and publicly splitting the U.N. Security
Council (UNSC) for the first time since it started punishing Pyongyang
in 2006.
The most striking sign of deepening ties came in July, when Russian
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang and toured a weapons
exhibit that included the North's banned ballistic missiles. He later
stood beside Kim and saluted those missiles as they rolled by during a
military parade.
HOW HAS THE UKRAINE WAR AFFECTED THE RELATIONSHIP?
North Korea has reciprocated with public support for Moscow after Russia
invaded Ukraine. It was one of the only countries to recognise the
independence of Russian-claimed Ukrainian regions, and it expressed
support for Russia's annexation of parts of Ukraine.
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![](../images/090523PIX/news_u98.jpg)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo during their
meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, April 25, 2019. Picture taken April
25, 2019. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS//File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Sep/05/images/ads/current/atlantabank_quarter_FAIR_2023.png)
The United States has accused North Korea of providing arms to
Russia, but it is unclear whether any deliveries have been made.
Both Russia and North Korea have denied those claims, but promised
to deepen defence cooperation.
"Moscow's 'special military operation' in Ukraine has ushered in a
new geopolitical reality in which the Kremlin and (North Korea) may
become increasingly close, perhaps even to the point of resurrecting
the quasi-alliance relationship that had existed during the Cold
War," Artyom Lukin, a professor at Far Eastern Federal University in
Vladivostok, wrote in a report for 38 North.
It is notable Pyongyang has begun using the new phrase "tactical and
strategic collaboration" to describe its relationship with Russia,
he added.
Shoigu told Russian media on Monday that Moscow is discussing joint
military exercises with North Korea.
"Why not, these are our neighbours. There's an old Russian saying:
you don't choose your neighbours and it's better to live with your
neighbours in peace and harmony," Interfax news agency quoted him as
saying.
WHAT ARE THE ECONOMIC TIES?
Last year, Russia and North Korea restarted train travel for the
first time since railway journeys were cut during the COVID
pandemic. The train carried an unusually opulent cargo: 30
thoroughbred horses.
Shortly after that, Russia resumed oil exports to North Korea,
United Nations data shows, the first such shipments reported since
2020.
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The vast majority of North Korea's trade goes through China, but
Russia is a potentially important partner as well, particularly for
oil, experts said. Moscow has denied breaking U.N. sanctions, but
Russian tankers have been accused of helping evade caps on exporting
oil to North Korea and sanctions monitors have reported labourers
remain in Russia despite a ban.
Russian officials have openly discussed "working on political
arrangements" to employ 20,000 to 50,000 North Korean labourers,
despite U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban such
arrangements.
Russian officials and leaders in occupied regions of Ukraine have
also discussed the possibility of having North Korean workers help
rebuild war-torn areas.
(Reporting by Josh Smith. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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