Vladimir Putin confirmed he will be going on a two-day visit to North Korea on Tuesday, according to report,This will be the Russian president’s first visit to the nation in over 20 years and the most recent indication of a growing alliance that has sparked discussions throughout the world.
This would be Putin’s first overseas travel since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, and it is a watershed moment for North Korean President Kim Jong Un, who has not visited another international leader in Pyongyang – one of the world’s most politically isolated capitals.
The visit is anticipated to strengthen the growing ties between the two countries, since they both have a mutual hostility toward the West and is motivated by Putin’s desire for assistance in his continuous war on Ukraine.
Putin will from there go on a second, two-day journey to Hanoi on Wednesday, a move that is expected to rankle the United States due to Communist-ruled Vietnam’s close relations to Russia.
The US, South Korea, and other nations have stated that North Korea has been giving Russia a significant war support through their military, in recent months. Meanwhile, analysts have expressed concern that Moscow may be breaking international sanctions in order to support Pyongyang’s development of its fledgling strategic satellite program. North Korea’s arms exports have been rejected by both nations.
Putin’s journey is sensed as retaliation for Kim’s one from September of last year, during which Kim visited Russia in an armored train in Russia’s far east, stopping at a rocket launch complex and a fighter air factory.
In salutation to Putin on June 12, which is celebrated as Russia’s national day, Kim celebrated the future of the two nations friendship which he tagged “meaningful ties and comradeship” last week.
“Our people give full support and solidarity to the successful work of the Russian army and people,” the North Korean president stated, according to the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper.
Russian state media reported, that the Kremlin had stated that Russia aspires to develop an alliance with North Korea “in all possible areas”
The meeting took place just a few days after President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine attended a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) developed economies in Italy, where Western leaders affirmed their unending support for Ukraine and decided to use the proceeds from the frozen Russian assets to support a $50 billion loan to Ukraine.
additionally, the meeting comes after a worldwide peace conference organized by Kyiv that brought more than 100 nations and organizations together. The goal of the event was to garner support for Zelensky’s peace proposal, which demands for the total evacuation of Russian forces.
A day before the meeting, Putin rejected every attempt by setting up his own conditions for peace, which included Kyiv withdrawing its intentions to join NATO, which is seen as unfeasible by Ukraine and its supporters, and the evacuation of Ukrainian forces from four partially occupied territories.
Many people believe that Putin would use his trip to North Korea as a measure to strengthen Kim’s support for the war he has started, which is seen as an aim that could become more pressing as long-delayed US military assistance for Ukraine becomes available.
Russian forces were able to “get back up on their feet” because of the supply of Iranian drones and North Korean weapons and missiles, according to a statement from the US Secretary of Defense,Lloyd Austin to the US legislators.
According to South Korea’s defense ministry earlier this year, Pyongyang transferred over 6,700 containers to Russia between the months of August and February. These containers could contain more than 3 million rounds of 152 mm artillery shells or even more than 500,000 rounds of 122 mm multiple rocket launchers.
Though both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied carrying out such a large arms transactions, to the extent that a senior North Korean official referred to the allegations as ‘absurd paradox’
A spokesperson for the Kremlin responded to questions last week concerning worries that Russia is giving sensitive technologies to Pyongyang in exchange for fighting arms, he by stated that the two nations have “profound potential for developing bilateral relations” and they “should not and cannot be challenged.”
Recall that Putin last traveled to North Korea in 2000, when he had a meeting with Kim Jong Il, who is Kim’s late father.
His recent trip is seen as an attempt to re-establish himself on the international scene by bringing in allies who share his views in an effort to combat his highly denounced invasion of Ukraine.
During Putin’s state visit to Beijing last month, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping strengthened their strong opposition to what they perceived to be a US imposed world order.
Moscow hosted a conference of the BRICS, which is a group of big developing economies, which includes China, Iran, South Africa, and Brazil, Moscow last week invited foreign ministers from these nations. This Putin’s initiative to strengthen relations with North Korea has also benefited Kim, who has not yielded to years of international sanctions related to his illicit nuclear weapons program.
And it has happened at a time when international eyes have been raised over the North Korean leader’s intentions,since his use of bellicose rhetoric and abandonment of the long-standing strategy of pursuing with South Korea.
The leader of a nation that is a member of the UN Security Council will be visiting, giving Kim the opportunity to showcase his power on a global scale and to cajole Moscow into releasing the much needed financial and technological help.
In the past, Russia had supported UN sponsored investigations and international punishment which were aimed at stopping North Korea’s unauthorized weapons program, which included testing long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of affect the US mainland.
However, it seems that Russia’s growing alliance with North Korea and its growing hatred for the West have changed this norm. A UN resolution to reinstate independent monitoring of North Korea’s breaches of Security Council sanctions was rejected by Kim occasions.
