On June 18th, for the first time in 24 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin embarked on a two-day visit to North Korea. This move, which has stirred concerns among the global community and democratic nations, was anticipated. The Russian leader chose a strategic moment to expand military and economic ties with Pyongyang, using the recent World Summit in Switzerland as a pretext.
The war of invasion in Ukraine has persisted for nearly 30 months now. Four Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia in September 2022 remain fiercely contested and resource-intensive battlegrounds. Without announcing a new wave of mobilisation and obtaining external military supplies, Russia is unlikely to achieve its goals of territorial acquisition. Hence, Moscow sees North Korean missiles and artillery shells as crucial assets.
Equally important to Russia is geopolitical destabilisation and shifting the global balance of power to create crises in regions that are strategic partners of NATO and the US. Moscow welcomes any initiatives that divert attention away from Ukraine, as modern and long-range Ukrainian weaponry complicates Putin’s objectives.
Russia’s potential allies for munitions supplies are severely limited, primarily encompassing Iran and North Korea. Their combined forces pale in comparison to the might of NATO. Belarus could offer a couple of hundred tanks, Tehran several hundred missiles, and Pyongyang a million shells, but even this may not suffice if Ukraine receives significant military support.
Putin’s visit to North Korea also solidified an alliance between authoritarian regimes that face US sanctions pressure. For the West, this visit resurrects the dark shadows of the Cold War and poses a serious challenge. Moscow and Pyongyang’s collaboration includes military technology transfers, directly violating UN Security Council resolutions; from 2006 to 2017, four resolutions were adopted on this issue.
The new military technologies in the hands of North Korea’s leadership pose a direct threat to the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang thus becomes Moscow’s military adjunct, a tool of pressure in future peace negotiations. Joint strengthening with Iran could lead to increased terrorism, nuclear blackmail, and global destabilisation.
A necessary response should be an increase in arms production and support for Ukraine. Otherwise, another hotspot of tension may emerge on the other side of the globe. The longer the war in Ukraine drags on due to Russia’s military advantage, the stronger the imperative for a Western coalition to unite efforts and shift this balance in Ukraine’s favour. Russia’s current policies appear to be aimed solely atcreating global chaos and disorder.
Putin’s visit to North Korea signifies more than a diplomatic trip; it signals a recalibration of global power dynamics reminiscent of Cold War strategies. The implications are profound, demanding a vigilant and coordinated response from democratic nations to uphold stability and international norms in the face of totalitarian ambitions.
