What North Korea is getting in return for sending weapons to Russia | DW News

What North Korea is getting in return for sending weapons to Russia | DW News

now after months of speculation it’s finally happening the Russian President Vladimir Putin is due in North Korea on Tuesday for a two-day visit it will be his first trip to the country in nearly 25 years it’s the latest demonstration of deepening ties between Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un but why now our East Asia correspondent James Traer looks at what’s behind this partnership North Korean leader Kim jongan in Russia last year shaking hands with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin the man he now calls an invincible comrade in arms Putin’s trip to North Korea and his third meeting with Kim the latest demonstration of deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang the two adversaries of the United States have drawn closer since Russia launched its fullscale invasion of Ukraine finding friendship amid growing Global isolation but it’s a relationship that stoking concerns in the West South Korean and US officials say the north has been feeding the Russian war machine sending millions of Munitions to Moscow they say Russia in return has provided North Korea with military technology and economic aid in defiance of un resolutions sa and Washington have held an emergency call to discuss the visit but despite Western criticism the Kremlin said it has every right to develop ties with Pyongyang and shouldn’t be ch challenged for doing so all this comes as tensions on the Korean Peninsula steadily built the US and South Korea recently conducted joint air exercises featuring a B1 strategic bomber two one wow wow SPL it included their first Precision guided bombing drill in 7 years South Korea this month scrapped a military pact with the north allowing it to resume combat drills on their shared border soul for its part said it was responding to a barrage of North Korean Bloons filled with feces and trash that were sent towards the South let’s bring in Jean Lee she is an adjunct fellow at the East West Center in Honolulu Hawai and joins us from there and she previously spent many years as a journalist covering North Korea heading the Associated Press Bureau in Pyongyang Jean welcome to the day uh Kim jongan rarely hosts foreign leaders so why is he receiving Putin now at the this point in time we are watching this closely because you know North Korea has been so closed off they sealed the borders at the start of the covid-19 pandemic there’s been very little traffic in and out of course many embassies shuttered their doors temporarily and diplomats and Aid workers left so there’s very been very little traffic across the border they are very strategically opening up and extending invitations to specifically Chinese and Russian officials but Putin would be the highest profile leader to make a trip all the way to pongyang about since the pandemic and that is a huge propaganda coup for Kim Jong-un and what can Kim actually offer to Vladimir Putin I mean this is a time when North Korea has something that Russia needs it’s not doesn’t happen very often but North Korea does have stockpiles of ammunition that that Putin would certainly like to use and has been using in the campaign in Ukraine and that is of course a violation of un sanctions there are very other C very few other countries that are willing to support that campaign but but here is something that North Korea has that he can offer to Putin for once and so it has become a very transactional and useful relationship for both sides because of course North Korea is extremely isolated at this point needs fuel Aid and also some technology to get its nuclear program to the next level so certainly while this is a huge propaganda coup for Kim Jong-un we’re also looking closely at the kind of military Arrangements that might come out of this meeting now what do you reckon how would this new Kim Putin Alliance that isn’t that new alter the security balance in the uh in the Pacific region you this is a traditional relationship Russia North Korea and it’s been a relationship that has been there for many years however it hasn’t been a very strong one it it waxes and waines but this is a time when they can stand together in defiance of the United States and in defiance of the West and I think that we’re seeing the results of that for example by flouting the UN Security Council resolutions it also calls into question the effectiveness of the UN Security Council if these countries are willing to just boldly flout those regulations and so it does call into question the effectiveness of some of these International regimes that are put into place to regulate Behavior Uh by Rogue Nations uh but it’s also a sign of course of that deepening Rift between Russia and its few allies and the United States and its allies certainly makes any action on North Korea as their Ambitions grow more and more difficult now we talk about North Korea we also need to talk about China how does Beijing view all of this I think this is a very tricky dance of course China stands and in so many ways with Russia serves as a big brother and Lifeline for North Korea but I do think China recognizes that it’s not that straightforward and is trying to play this play this complicated game of standing with these Partners against the West without completely jeopardizing its relationships with for example South Korea so one of the interesting backdrops to this Putin visit to pangang is that you will have high a highlevel meeting between Chinese officials and South Korean officials in Soul so China I think is also I would imagine nervous about the kinds of Arrangements that might be made in pongyang this week because their priority of course is stability and any any trade in military technology that could Advance the program certainly makes it more difficult for them to maintain stability in the region so I think that the Chinese are watching this very carefully outwardly supporting Russia and North Korea but perhaps privately concerned about what could come out of this relationship as well uh you you think that any attempts by the US to engage North Korea are they effectively hopeless or do we see uh can we see another charm offensive if if if Trump gets reelected well I certainly think that that’s what Kim Jong-un is hoping and if you’re Kim Jong-un you’re thinking why would I bother with the Biden Administration this year when there’s the potential to have a relationship or resume a friendship with my good friend Donald Trump so even though those negotiations didn’t work out in 2018 and 2019 I believe that Jun thinks that there may be more of a chance of getting back to that negotiation perhaps if Donald Trump returns to the White House that’s a big if and so what we’re seeing right now is North Korea hedging its bets it there’s no reason why they shouldn’t put all their eggs in the basket right now with Russia uh but certainly they’re looking they’re waiting and watching to see what happens with that us election J that joh fellow at the East West Center in honlulu thank you very much for joining us on the day Bradley Bowman is a foreign policy Analyst at the foundation for defense of democracies in Washington I asked him why Vladimir Putin has decided to visit North Korea now this is Putin’s first trip in quite some time but it’s hardly surprising I say that because it’s worth remembering that Kim went to Russia last September and during that visit he called uh pyongyang’s relationship with Russia a top priority and he committed to full support not only for Putin but for his war in Ukraine and at the time Russia announced that there might be a reciprocal visit by Putin to North Korea so this is really could be viewed as kind of a fulfillment of that commitment and a reciprocal visit following Kim’s visit last year so it’s not surprising but why now I think this is part of a broader Dynamic and then also one specific to the bilateral relationship the broader Dynamic is that we’re really seeing we being I’d say the United States Europe and our allies are seeing the jelling if you will of what I would call an AIS of aggressors consisting of China Russia Iran and North Korea you know there’s differences between the countries and their objectives and they have distrust among themselves and autocrats tend not to want to trust other leaders but they’re unified by their opposition to the United States to Europe and to the rules-based order and they’re eager to maintain their foot on the throats of their respective people to maintain their their authoritarian grip on Power and to advance a might makes right foreign policy in each of their respective regions that presents not only region challenges but also Global challenges as well so how much help can Kim really give Putin for his war against Ukraine well you know it’s a good question Kim has already provided a lot of support to Putin according to the US defense intelligence agency uh this is as of last May uh just a couple months ago uh North Korea already provided at least three million artillary rounds to Russia for use in uh inside Ukraine to support uh Putin’s provoked Invasion and we’ve also seen the the supply of short- range ballistic missiles and according to again to the defense intelligence agency we see the remains of some of those North Korean missiles having been used inside Ukraine including near kke in January so we’ve already seen weapons going from North Korea uh to Russia for use in Ukraine I mean don’t let that wash over you North Korean weapons being used in Europe to kill European men women and children in Europe that’s a big deal and uh Putin using in his forces are going through these misss so quickly uh the Russian defense industrial base is having a hard time keeping up so they need all the help they can get and they’re going to get some of that help have been getting it and want more of it from pongyang uh Bradley briefly if you can what does uh Kim get in return from Putin Kim wants economic help he wants diplomatic support at the UN Security Council uh and he wants weapons as well and support for North Korea Space Program which creates genuine concerns of course for South Korea Japan and the United States as well as the broader International Community Bradley Bowman there with the foundation for defense of democracies thank you very much for sharing your expertise with us

Russian president Vladimir Putin will travel to North Korea, to meet with Kim Jong-un. The two countries have drawn closer since the imposition of Western sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Russian media say the two may sign a security partnership – in defiance of warnings from the US and South Korea.

00:00 Background
02:07 Jean Lee, East-West Center in Honolulu
08:00 Bradley Bowman, Foundation For Defence Of Democracies

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