Putin and Kim Jong Un Forge Alliance, Pledge Mutual Support Amidst Global Tensions

By Iyojo Ameh

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have signed a sweeping strategic pact during Putin’s first visit to Pyongyang since 2000.

This agreement, which includes mutual defense commitments, solidifies their partnership amid international isolation and Western sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have strengthened their diplomatic and military ties with the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership during Putin’s landmark visit to Pyongyang.

The visit is Putin’s first since assuming office, underscoring Russia’s strategic realignment towards anti-Western alliances in response to ongoing global tensions.

The newly signed agreement outlines mutual support and cooperation between Russia and North Korea, particularly in defense against external military threats.

Putin emphasized the pact’s significance in countering what he described as Western efforts to impose “imperialist policies” and sanctions on both nations.

In his address following the signing ceremony, Putin criticized Western sanctions on Russia and North Korea, calling for a reassessment of international measures that he argues unfairly target their sovereignty and security interests.

Kim Jong Un echoed Putin’s sentiments, affirming North Korea’s solidarity with Russia and their joint opposition to Western dominance.

Details of the strategic pact have not been fully disclosed, but officials suggest it will replace previous agreements and deepen bilateral ties in various sectors including military cooperation, economic exchanges, and diplomatic coordination.

The move is seen as a strategic maneuver by both leaders to strengthen their positions amidst international pressure and isolation.

Analysts speculate on the implications of this alliance, debating whether it represents a temporary alignment of convenience or a more enduring military partnership reminiscent of Cold War-era alliances.

The agreement underscores a significant shift in Russo-North Korean relations, historically marked by fluctuations in economic and political engagement.

The international community, particularly Western nations, views the Russia-North Korea alliance with concern, fearing potential repercussions for global stability and efforts to curb nuclear proliferation.

Critics argue that increased cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang could undermine international sanctions regimes and embolden both regimes in their defiance of global norms.

Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, accompanied by elaborate ceremonies and extensive bilateral discussions, highlights North Korea’s strategic importance to Russia amidst strained relations with traditional Western allies.

Economic exchanges under the partnership may include technology transfers and labor exports, potentially bypassing existing international sanctions.

“The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement,” Putin said.

Shunned by the West over his invasion of Ukraine, Putin is seeking partners who share his anti-Western stance, including China, Iran and North Korea. Kim extolled the “firm alliance” with Moscow and openly backed Putin’s war against Ukraine, the strongest support for Russia’s invasion from any foreign leader.

“Moscow and Pyongyang will continue to oppose the practice of sanctions strangulation that the West has become accustomed to,” Putin said, calling for a review of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.

His remarks — supporting North Korea’s right to “take justified measures” to ensure its national security — will inevitably increase Western fears of new Russian military and technological support for North Korea.

Putin also blamed the “confrontational policy” of the United States for undermining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

“We categorically reject the attempts to blame [North Korea] for the worsening situation,” Putin said, adding that Pyongyang was “entitled to take justified measures to strengthen its national defense capacities, ensure national security, and protect its sovereignty.”

Russia for years backed U.N. sanctions against North Korea but in March vetoed a Security Council vote on extending a U.N. panel of experts monitoring sanctions compliance. Since then, senior Russian officials have repeatedly used the term “strangulation” to describe the U.N. sanctions.

After an ostentatious welcome ceremony and an afternoon of meetings, the two emerged to announce their shared vision of a united front against the West and the U.S.-led global order. Putin asserted his country’s fight against “decades of imperialist policies” of the United States and its allies. In turn, North Korea promised “full support and solidarity for the Russian government, army and people” in the war in Ukraine, state media agencies reported.

The two leaders signed an agreement on “comprehensive strategic partnership,” Russian media reported. The text was not immediately published, but Russian officials said before the meeting that it would replace previous key documents.

Whatever the ultimate extent of the agreement, it served as a clear rejoinder to President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just six days after they signed a 10-year security agreement committing the United States to provide Kyiv with a wide range of military aid.

Putin’s visit underscored the dramatic changes in the countries’ relationship in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. For decades after the founding of North Korea in 1945, the Soviet Union served as its main economic and security benefactor. Now, as Putin faces growing isolation and a dwindling supply of artillery to use in Ukraine, North Korea has become one of its few remaining sources of diplomatic and military support.

In a front-page article in the newspaper of North Korea’s ruling party, Putin proposed cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang in fighting sanctions, in creating a new security architecture across Eurasia, and in science and tourism. He wrote that Russia would a form a new trade and financial network to compete with Western-controlled global financial institutions.

“Russia is fighting the hegemonic and imperialist policy of the United States and its satellites against the Russian Federation which has been imposed for decades,” Putin wrote. “We highly appreciate your consistent and unwavering support for Russian policy, including in the Ukrainian direction.”

North Korea, for its part, has plenty to gain from Russia. Kim is facing increasing economic sanctions and isolation because of his nuclear ambitions. He needs food, fuel, cash and weapons technology — all of which Russia can provide.

Still, it is unusual for North Korea to have such a valuable bargaining chip with Russia, given its tiny size, poor economy and international pariah status. Kim is no stranger to bluster, but usually with no real upper hand in a diplomatic negotiation.

“I think the fact that Putin has to come all the way to North Korea to pay his respects underscores how desperate he is for the ammunition he needs from North Korea,” said Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia. “That is a giant reversal from 10 to 20 years ago when Putin was the powerful one. Now he needs weapons, and he needs Kim Jong Un, and he needs weapons for his war in Ukraine.”

It’s unclear whether this is merely a temporary relationship of convenience or a lasting military alliance similar to the Cold War era, analysts say. Either way, it highlights a remarkable evolution in their growing cooperation since the invasion, experts note.

“This summit serves as both a testament to the current strength of the relationship between the two countries and a harbinger of an even stronger partnership in the future,” said Lami Kim, professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.

Pyongyang was lined with Russian flags and banners with Putin’s photo, welcoming the first major world leader to visit the country since North Korea’s pandemic closures, Russian media footage showed.

Kim did not elaborate on what his “full” support for Russia might look like, but the remarks, reported by Russian media in Pyongyang, will fuel concerns that the outcast leaders of two heavily sanctioned states will use this visit to deepen their military partnership.

Washington and its allies contend that North Korea, which is believed to have a large stockpile of dated artillery shells and rockets compatible with Soviet and Russian weapons systems, has been sending Russia munitions to use against Ukraine.

North Korea has sent at least 10,000 shipping containers to Russia, which could hold as many as 4.8 million of the types of artillery shells that Putin has used in Ukraine, South Korea’s defense minister, Shin Won-sik, told Bloomberg last week.

The State Department said Tuesday that North Korea had unlawfully transferred “dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000 containers of munitions to aid Russia’s war effort” in recent months.

Kim has refused Washington’s efforts to engage with him after denuclearization talks fell apart in 2019. Instead, he has drawn closer to Russia and to China, North Korea’s economic lifeline.

In recent years, Kim has ramped up rhetoric about a “new Cold War” and, along with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, has called for a “multipolar world” — a vision that seeks an end to the dominance of the United States.

On Wednesday, North Korean state media described the relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow as “an engine for accelerating the building of a new multipolar world.”

Putin has also made moves to undermine sanctions, edge out the dollar as the major global reserve currency and shape international institutions to suit Russian interests, a campaign that has had resonance among some Global South nations intent on pursuing their own national interests, many of them unhappy with Western pressure to take sides.

Since beginning his fifth term in office this year, Putin’s anti-Western posturing has grown more marked as he seeks to deter Western nations from continuing military support for Ukraine and to constrain Kyiv’s capacity to strike at military targets within Russia.

Putin’s visit to North Korea underscores his recent threat to supply Russian missiles to nations opposed to the West should the United States and other Western nations permit Kyiv to carry out longer-range strikes using Western weapons on military targets in Russia.