Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in North Korea on Tuesday for a two-day visit, his first in 24 years, both countries announced. The visit comes amid growing international concerns about an arms arrangement in which Pyongyang provides Moscow with badly needed munitions to fuel Mr Putin’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that would enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile programme.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Mr Putin will pay a state visit on Tuesday and Wednesday at Kim’s invitation, but did not provide details. Russia confirmed the visit in a simultaneous announcement. The visit is seen as a significant development in the growing military and economic cooperation between North Korea and Russia, which has sharply increased since Kim visited the Russian Far East in September for a meeting with Mr Putin.
Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have been on the rise since Kim’s visit to the Russian Far East, with US and South Korean officials accusing the North of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment to help prolong its fighting in Ukraine. Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied accusations about North Korean weapons transfers, which would be in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
According to Andrei Lankov, an expert on North Korea at Kookmin University in Seoul, North Korea hopes to receive higher-end weapons from Moscow in exchange for providing artillery munitions and short-range ballistic missiles. Lankov noted that while Russia could be reluctant to share its state-of-the-art military technologies with North Korea, it is eager to receive munitions from Pyongyang.
Moscow has said it “highly appreciates” Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s military action in Ukraine and mentioned its “close and fruitful cooperation” at the United Nations and other international organisations. Russia, together with China, have repeatedly blocked the US and its partners’ attempts to impose fresh UN sanctions on North Korea over its barrage of banned ballistic missile tests.
Russian President Vladimir Putin0 (Via Vladimir Putin/Twitter)
The visit also comes after Mr Putin sent Mr Kim a high-end Aurus Senat limousine, which he had shown to the North Korean leader when they met for a summit in September. The shipment violated a UN resolution aimed at pressuring the North to give up its nuclear weapons programme by banning the supply of luxury items to North Korea.
Mr Putin has continuously sought to rebuild ties with Pyongyang as part of his efforts to restore his country’s global clout and its Soviet-era alliances. After North Korea, the Kremlin said Mr Putin will also visit Vietnam on Wednesday and Thursday, where he is set to meet with top Vietnamese officials to discuss the prospects for the continued development of a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Vietnam.
The United States has criticized Mr Putin’s planned visit to Vietnam, with a US Embassy spokesperson in Vietnam saying that no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalise his atrocities. The statement added that if Mr Putin is able to travel freely, it could normalise Russia’s blatant violations of international law and inadvertently send the message that atrocities can be committed in Ukraine and elsewhere with impunity.
