Russia President Vladimir Putin makes a rare visit to North Korea, an old ally:
The Korean Peninsula’s SEOUL (AP) Following his statement that the two nations desire to work closely together to lift the sanctions imposed by the United States in the wake of growing tensions with Washington, Russian President Vladimir Putin left Russia early on Wednesday and landed in North Korea.
leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, greeted Putin at Pyongyang’s airport. According to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, Kim and Putin shook hands and gave each other an embrace before Kim got in his car and personally drove Putin to Pyongyang’s Kumsusan State Guest House. Their meeting, according to the agency, was a historic occasion that showed the friendship and togetherness between the two countries to be “invincible and durable.”
In remarks that surfaced in North Korea’s official media only hours before his arrival, Putin—making his first visit there in 24 years—said he was grateful for the nation’s unwavering backing of his military operations in Ukraine. In 2022, the neighboring country came under full-scale invasion by the Kremlin.
He said the countries would continue to “resolutely oppose” what he characterized as Western intentions “to hinder the establishment of a multipolar world order based on justice, mutual respect for sovereignty, and considering each other’s interests.”
Concerns regarding an arms deal in which Pyongyang gives Moscow desperately needed ammunition to support Russia’s war in Ukraine in exchange for financial support and technology transfers that would strengthen the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program are intensifying as Putin makes his visit.
In Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, Russian flags and Putin images adorned the streets. The words “We warmly welcome the President of the Russian Federation” were written on a building banner.
Along with opposing the sanctions against the two nations, which he called “illegal, unilateral restrictions,” Putin stated in his statements that were made public that Russia and North Korea will create payment and commerce networks “that are not controlled by the West.”
Due to its nuclear weapons and missile programs, North Korea is subject to severe economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council; meanwhile, Russia is also under sanctions imposed by the United States and its Western allies due to its aggressive actions in Ukraine.
According to Putin, the nations will increase their collaboration in the areas of tourism, culture, and education.
Putin visited Yakutsk, a city in eastern Russia, prior to his trip to North Korea. There, he had a meeting with the governor of the province, Aisen Nikolayev, and was briefed on defense and technology-related initiatives. Additionally, he had meetings with young professionals in the Far East of Russia.
According to his foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, Putin is joined by a number of high-ranking officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, and Deputy Prime Minister Denis Mantrurov. He stated that several agreements will be inked during the visit, maybe encompassing a full strategic collaboration deal.
Following Kim’s September meeting with Putin in the Russian Far East—their first since 2019—U.S. and South Korean officials report that military, economic, and other exchanges between North Korea and Russia have significantly risen.
Authorities from the United States and South Korea charge that the North gave Russia artillery, missiles, and other military hardware for use in Ukraine, maybe in exchange for aid and important military technology. Claims that North Korea is transferring weapons would be in violation of several U.N. Security Council sanctions, which Russia has previously supported. Both Pyongyang and Moscow refute these allegations.
Russia President Vladimir Putin:
In addition to China, Russia has given political cover to Kim’s ongoing efforts to expand his nuclear arsenal by obstructing American-led attempts to put new sanctions on the North due to its weapons testing.
The monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear program was stopped in March due to a Russian veto at the UN, which prompted charges from the West that Moscow is trying to dodge scrutiny while it purchases weapons from Pyongyang for use in Ukraine. Officials from the United States and South Korea have stated that they are debating possibilities for a new system to keep an eye on the North.
Putin sent Kim an opulent Aurus Senat limousine earlier this year, which he had shown the North Korean leader at their September meeting. According to observers, the consignment went against a United Nations resolution that forbids sending upscale goods to North Korea.
Russia is “in desperation to develop and strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine,” according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, citing Putin’s visit to North Korea as an example.
“North Korea is giving Russia a lot of munitions and other weapons to use in Ukraine.” Blinken informed reporters after a meeting with NATO head Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday that Iran has been supplying weapons, including drones, that have been used against civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Regarding the “possible support that Russia provides to North Korea when it comes to supporting their missile and nuclear programs,” Stoltenberg expressed worries once more.
South Korea has been emphasizing to Moscow, according to Lim Soosuk, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, that any collaboration between North Korea and Russia must not “proceed in a direction that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions or undermines peace and stability in the region.”
As combined military drills involving the US, South Korea, Japan, and South Korea pick up speed on a tit-for-tat basis and Kim continues to test new weapons, tensions on the Korean Peninsulas are at their highest point in years. Along with this, the Koreas have waged psychological warfare reminiscent of the Cold War, with North Korea using balloons to dump tons of trash on the South and the South using its loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda critical of North Korea.
The military of South Korea claimed that for the second time this month, soldiers fired warning shots to drive back North Korean soldiers who had momentarily crossed the border on Tuesday. The crossing appeared to be an error.
In an attempt to regain his nation’s influence and its alliances from the Soviet period, Putin has persistently worked to mend relations with Pyongyang. Moscow’s relations with North Korea soured following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. of Vladivostok, the eastern port of Russia, Kim Jong Un and Putin had their first meeting of 2019.
Putin is scheduled to visit Vietnam for talks that are anticipated to center on trade after his visit to North Korea, according to the Kremlin. The United States disapproved of Putin’s scheduled visit, despite having spent years bolstering relations and boosting trade with Vietnam.
“We reiterate that no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities,” a U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Vietnam said in a statement. “As Russia continues to seek international support to sustain its illegal and brutal war against Ukraine,”