Kim Jong Un may meet with Putin in Russia Photo: Reuters
Kim Jong Un is reportedly planning to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin This month will show how far the North Korean leader is willing to go to woo Moscow as a strategic partner in countering US interests.
The reclusive leader is notoriously paranoid about his safety, rarely venturing beyond the closed confines of his regime and avoiding air travel where possible in favor of a bottle-green train of 21 bulletproof cars.
If Kim personally will do, The Vladivostok trip suggests that the meeting with Putin goes far beyond an arms deal and cements a deeper alliance of convenience between two rogue states that increasingly see an opportunity to frustrate Washington's policies in Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.
For Pyongyang, which intends to continue its nuclear weapons program, a closer partnership with Russia and China will help overcome diplomatic isolation and become part of a united front against the US, which seeks closer regional security cooperation with South Korea and Japan.
Washington, Tokyo and Seoul are no doubt worried about what Russia and North Korea might gain from a military cooperation agreement.
Putin, bogged down in a war with Ukraine, wants stockpiles of artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from Kim, while North Korea seeks Russian help in advanced technology for satellites and nuclear submarines, as well as food for its depleted population, the US said. New York Times officials.
Such a win-win deal would allow Russia to replenish its depleted weapons stockpiles while boosting Kim's domestic image as a statesman and allowing North Korea to avoid sanctions designed to block the expansion of its own nuclear arsenal.
North Korea is banned from developing weapons that use the technology ballistic missiles, resolutions of the UN Security Council, which were previously supported by all permanent members, including Russia and China.
But there is tension among UNSC members over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. make the likelihood that Moscow will play a constructive role in resolving tensions on the Korean Peninsula less realistic than ever. It's more of a chance to be a thorn in America's eye.
The two leaders, pictured in 2019, previously met in the port city of Vladivostok Photo: Getty
Heading into a series of regional summits culminating in the G20 meeting in India next week, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol said he would urge world leaders to faithfully enforce UN sanctions on North Korea and block the country's illegal activities to fund its programs. weapons.
In recent years, both China and Russia have repeatedly blocked U.S.-led efforts to tighten sanctions while being accused of failing to enforce existing restrictions.
In another sign of developing trilateral ties, South Korea's spy agency warned on Monday that Russia may have invited North Korea to join a trilateral naval exercise with China.
President Yong's call for international assistance in maintaining world peace The peninsula has marked 20 years — almost today — since the start of the «six-party talks» in which the United States, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia sat down at a round table to discuss security concerns related to Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions .
In an era of rapidly shifting geopolitical alliances, it's hard to see how this diplomatic scenario could play out again.
The possibility remains that Kim's trip may never take place. Some have suggested this by publicizing US intelligence about the visit. 'leaks' could discourage covert leader from traveling.
«If it gets out that he plans to go to Vladivostok to meet President Putin, he will most likely just cancel the whole thing.» — John Everard, former The British Ambassador to Pyongyang told the BBC about this.
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