Russian dictator Vladimir Putin personally traveled to North Korea to ask for help in the war against Ukraine, to legitimize the regime of Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, to gain support in the fight against collective action, and to get North Korean workers for construction.
This follows from a statement by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on June 18.
Analysts noted that on the eve of the visit, Putin deliberately published an article in the North Korean state newspaper in which he praised the cooperation between the two dictatorships and thanked them for supporting the invasion of Ukraine. It contains many well-known propaganda narratives about the DPRK and the USSR. The dictator mused that it was the USSR that first established diplomatic relations with North Korea in order to justify future requests for support of the russian federation's military actions in Ukraine.
In addition, russia is counting on the support of the DPRK in the "joint struggle against the collective West and the "enemy of the DPRK" - the United States. By this, Putin is preliminarily justifying the help he can get from North Korea to circumvent sanctions.
"Putin's visit to North Korea is also a significant goodwill gesture toward Kim Jong Un, as the visit helps legitimize Kim's pariah regime both domestically and abroad. Foreign heads of state rarely visit North Korea, and Putin last visited North Korea in 2000," the article says.
Putin has done a lot of flattering to Kim Jong-un to help get additional help from North Korea in the future, which could range from additional requests for weapons or even manpower. Analysts recall that reports in 2022 indicated that North Korea was considering sending North Korean workers to russian-occupied Ukrainian cities to perform construction work.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on June 18, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Putin's visit to the DPRK "a sign of despair."
On June 16, the Reuters agency, citing its own sources, reported that the United States and South Korea are concerned about the deepening of military ties between russia and North Korea in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
On March 19, the U.S. Department of State announced that russia used at least 10 North Korean missiles to strike the territory of Ukraine.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.