International diplomatic news has taken an interesting turn with the announcement of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un. This visit once again underlines the growing cooperation between the two authoritarian leaders, while as war rages in Ukraine and military tensions increase in East Asia.
North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Putin thanked Kim for his invitation to visit Pyongyang and pledged to go there “in the near future.” The dates of the visit are still being discussed through diplomatic channels and will be announced later, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Putin’s upcoming visit to North Korea would be a response to one Kim made last September, when the North Korean leader traveled in his armored train to Russia’s Far Eastern region, including visiting a factory producing fighter jets and a rocket launch center.
This rapprochement between Russia and North Korea is closely observed, particularly in Ukraine. According to the US Department of Defense, Russia has twice fired missiles made in North Korea at targets in Ukraine in the past month. Additionally, South Korean intelligence reported that Pyongyang supplied Moscow with more than a million artillery shells that could be used in a possible invasion of Ukraine.
This increased collaboration between the two countries could also have an impact on North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. Western analysts say Russia could provide Kim with technology and expertise to perfect his nuclear missile program, which could threaten not only its neighbors in East Asia but potentially also the United States with intercontinental ballistic missiles .
For his part, Kim Jong Un is increasingly hardening his position towards South Korea, declaring that the North will no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with the South. He also gave instructions to accelerate war preparations in the army, munitions industry, nuclear weapons and civil defense, in response to “confrontational measures” by the United States.
This visit by Putin to North Korea therefore raises many questions and speculations about the future of relations between the two countries, as well as the impact that this could have on the international scene. It is certain that this meeting between the two leaders will have a considerable impact on the geopolitics of the region, and it will be interesting to follow future developments and the consequences of this Russian-North Korean rapprochement.