Time notes that the ties between the two outcasts are stronger than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's first visit to North Korea in 24 years looks more like a move of desperation than a rapprochement with ally.
This is stated in the Time article.
The publication recalls that the last time Putin visited North Korea was in his first year as president of Russia, and Kim Jong-un was still sitting in a Swiss boarding school under a false name. Instead, Putin was hosted by Kim's late father, Kim Jong Il.
“Twenty-four years later, Putin returns to the 'Hermit Kingdom' as he fights the deadliest land conflict in Europe since World War II and the younger Kim wields a nuclear arsenal capable of threatening the continental United States,” the article says.
Time notes that the ties between the two outcasts are stronger than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Washington and Seoul have accused Pyongyang of supplying Russia with artillery, ammunition and other equipment to help Russian occupiers overcome a winter shell shortage, for which North Korea likely received food, fuel and military technology in return. Both North Korea and Russia deny the existence of an arms deal. Meanwhile, analysis of some missile debris in Ukraine shows that they are of North Korean origin.
Putin’s support and the improving economic situation in the DPRK made Pyongyang more aggressive towards South Korea. The Russian dictator's visit comes at a time of heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula.
“The question is whether Kim Jong Un's blossoming relationship with Putin risks emboldening the North Korean despot. Historically, one of the main reasons why North Korea has tried to improve relations with the US has been to negotiate sanctions relief. But if Russia offers a viable long-term solution to improve the economy North Korea, Kim has less incentive to improve relations with Washington,” Time analysts reflect.
Russia's permanent seat on the UN Security Council makes this autocratic rapprochement especially valuable to Pyongyang. On March 28, Russia vetoed a UN resolution renewing the mandate of the bloc's Group of Experts to monitor the implementation of sanctions. Moscow is also taking measures to finally lift punitive economic measures against the DPRK.
From Putin's point of view, any problems that the Russian-Korean renaissance creates for the West and its allies are positive.
However, Putin’s visit to Pyongyang threatens to worsen Russia’s relations with Moscow’s main political and economic partner – China. According to Time, Putin wanted to visit Pyongyang last year, when he was on a visit to Beijing, but the Chinese persistently explained to him that this should not be done.
Moreover, China only tolerates the existence of North Korea – including the very real threat of nuclear holocaust just 500 miles from Beijing – because it is considered strategically better than a unified, US-allied Korean Peninsula on its border.
“The Chinese are probably tired or worried that North Korea and Russia are getting too close,” suggested Daniel Pinkston, an East Asia expert at Troy University in Seoul.
According to Pinkston, the announced “comprehensive strategic partnership” between Russia and the DPRK not only irritates Beijing, but in itself has no strong rationale other than situational benefits for both sides.
“Dictators can always break their commitments, so they are not reliable partners. Russia and North Korea are aggrieved revisionist states, but they have no common values other than the desire to abolish the status quo (in the world. – Ed .),” the analyst says
Recall that on June 18, Russian dictator Putin arrived in Pyongyang to meet with the DPRK dictator Kim Jong-un. This is Putin's first visit to the North Korean capital since 2000.
ISW analysts explained the purpose of the Russian “Fuhrer”’s visit to his North Korean “colleague”.
In turn, dictator Kim Jong-un said that he supports the Russian war in Ukraine.
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