The official Central News Agency of North Korea said Putin will make a state visit on June 18 and 19 at the invitation of leader Kim. North Korean state media did not provide details of the meeting. Russia confirmed the “friendly” visit in an advertisement published simultaneously.
“A lot of time will be dedicated to informal contacts between both leaders, since during these negotiations, which may be joined by other members of the delegations, the most important, most sensitive issues will be addressed”said Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin’s international adviser, the Interfax agency reported.
Ushakov stressed that between Putin y Kim There will be a “face to face” meeting, but there will also be meetings in different formats, since the Russian delegation includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, and the Minister of Defense, Andrei Beloúsov, among other senior officials of the Government and state corporations. like the Roscosmos space agency.
In a recent message, Kim had said he has an “unbreakable relationship of comrades-in-arms” with Putin.
“Our people give full support and solidarity to the successful work of the Russian army and people,” Kim said.according to the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper.
For its part, the Kremlin has stated that Russia hopes to build partnership with North Korea “in all possible areas”according to Russian state media.
In September 2023, Kim made a historic visit to Russia, where he was received by Putin. That time, the North Korean leader stated that ties with Moscow are North Korea’s “number one priority.”
Kim arrived in Russia on his armored train. Among the activities he carried out, his visits to a factory that produces combat aircraft and to a rocket launch facility.
Following Kim’s trip, The United States, South Korea and other Western countries accused the Kim regime of providing substantial military aid to Russia., while observers expressed concern that Moscow could be violating international sanctions on Pyongyang to end its weapons program. Both nations have assured that the allegations are not true.
Russia’s lifeline
Putin visited North Korea for the first time in July 2000.months after his first election, when he met with Kim Jong-il, who governed the country at the time.
In recent years, Kim Jong-un has grown closer to Putin. The North Korean leader withdrew from talks with the United States after the failed summit he held in 2019 in Hanoi with the then American president Donald Trump and began to strengthen ties with Russia.
After the invasion of Ukraine In February 2022, Western countries applied harsh economic sanctions to Russia. This, together with the prolongation of the war, caused Moscow to begin to need more and more ammunition, something you could get in North Korea. In turn, Pyongyang wanted to leave behind the international isolation that was seriously affecting its economy.
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According to The Economist, When Kim and Putin meet again, ammunition will be the main item on the agenda.
According to American and South Korean officials consulted by said magazine, since September of last year North Korea has shipped to Russia by sea and rail around 11,000 containers full of weapons.
The shipments include artillery shells (up to about 5 million rounds according to South Korea) as well as Hwasong-11 class ballistic missiles, which have been linked to dozens of deaths in Ukraine.
South Korea has speculated that in return, Russia would have sent North Korea at least 9,000 containers. Although the content is not known, according to Seoul what Kim needs are designs for nuclear weapons, vehicles for intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as technology related to satellites, submarines and hypersonic weapons. Russia could also provide Pyongyang with spare parts for more modern planes, ships and air defenses, The Economist notes.
It is also likely that he sent food and fuel.
What South Korean officials are sure of is that Russia has not yet transferred sensitive military technology to North Korea related to ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons.
At this point, The Economist points out that Russia has enough influence to get what he needs without being forced to give up his most advanced and sensitive technology to Kim.
“North Korea is not happy with the scope and depth of military cooperation with Russia,” said a former South Korean official who recently attended a dialogue with Russian and North Korean participants, according to The Economist, which noted that as As Russia’s weapons production increases, its need for North Korean projectiles may decrease.
For his part, Andrei Lankov, expert in North Korea from Kookmin University in Seoul, told the AP agency that although Russia could be reluctant to share its cutting-edge military technologies with North Korea, is eager to receive ammunition from Pyongyang. “There is never enough ammunition in a war, there is a great demand for it.”
It should be noted that any arms trade with North Korea would be a violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions that Russiapermanent member of UN Security Councilendorsed in the past.
Opinion…
What Russia and North Korea win
By Andrés Gómez de la Torre,
Defense issues specialist
Basically, what Putin needs is artillery ammunition and, eventually, some weapons systems manufactured under Soviet inspiration and rocket technology that, admittedly, is not very reliable. Furthermore, it must be remembered that since the Cold War there has been an old military relationship between the USSR and the North Korean regime, both with monopolistic communist political systems at the time, something that persists in Pyongyang.
In exchange, what Russia could provide North Korea is technology to improve the precision of its long-range strategic weapons, because it is known that Pyongyang’s medium and long-range ballistic systems do not have proven reliability. Eventually, the Russian Federation could give it more advanced technology.
Is this alliance a threat to the world? It must be noted that it is not new, there was already a convergence. Of course, the mere possibility that powers like Iran and North Korea could have nuclear technology is already a threat. It should be emphasized that it is a very complex game of balance of power where each party is also suspicious and careful of sending things that could work against it in the future. The alliance of Russia and North Korea is part of this whole dangerous combination that is being consolidated in power relations in the world, particularly in the military sphere.
The history of relations between Russia and North Korea
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The Associated Press reported Monday that there were signs that Kim was preparing to offer a lavish reception to Putin. The NK News website noted that its analysis of commercial satellite images suggests that North Korea Possibly he is preparing a large parade in a square in Pyongyang.
Regarding the historical ties between both nations, it must be remembered that in August 1945, at the end of the Second World Warthe Soviet Union liberated the north of the Korean Peninsula, which since 1910 had been occupied by Japan.
From the Korean war between 1950 and 1953, which ended with an armistice and the de facto separation of the Korean peninsula into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Pyongyang maintains a conflictive relationship with the United States. , which supported Seoul, noted CNN.
The USSR supported North Korea in the Korean War, although without participating directly. The good relationship was maintained during the Cold War, but without reaching the level of the close ties that Pyongyang has with Beijing.
On the military level, North Korea operates with equipment of Soviet origin or design.
In 2006, North Korea successfully conducted its first nuclear test., as the culmination of the development of its clandestine nuclear weapons program. This fact, in addition to generating concern in the West, also caused suspicion in its allies China and Russia.
That year, the United States introduced draft resolution 1695 in the UN Security Council, which condemned missile tests in North Korea and prohibited the sale of material that could contribute to its development. All 15 members voted in favor, including China and Russia.
In 2009, Russia also supported the imposition of sanctions on North Korea in response to its nuclear tests.
However, the relationships between Russia y North Korea They became closer again after Putin’s return to power in 2012. A year earlier, Kim Jong-un had taken over as leader of North Korea after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.
In 2015, Russia y North Korea They announced the start of a “year of friendship” between both countries, and in 2019, Kim met Putin for the first time in Vladivostok, near the border.