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Closer Russia-North Korea ties revive bloc politics in North-east Asia
US and South Korea almost have no leverage
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (left) with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Sept 13.
PHOTO: REUTERS
For the countries that see Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (or North Korea) as agents of international disruption, the summit meeting between Mr Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin in Russia in September was alarming. The North Korean leader promised Mr Putin “full and unconditional support” for what he called Moscow’s “sacred struggle”, a reference to Russia’s atrocity-laden invasion of Ukraine.
On Russia’s part, Mr Putin publicly acknowledged he and Mr Kim were in discussions on military cooperation, effectively ending Russia’s decades-old participation in an international regime prohibiting the transfer of weapons technology to North Korea.
