Meanwhile, for Kim Jong-un, the deepening partnership provides a stronger foothold in Moscow, greater freedom to manoeuvre beyond Beijing’s orbit, and access to a trove of hard-won lessons in modern warfare.
“On the North Korean side, they fulfil the role of a loyal ally to the Russians, incentivising Putin to technically collaborate with Kim on a variety of military and technical endeavours,” said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The New Nuclear Age.
“Kim has spoken about the need for the Korean People’s Army to essentially expose itself to modern warfare, which is a huge benefit of the role they can play at the front lines in the Russia-Ukraine war.”
As a global pariah, North Korea’s entrenchment in Putin’s war does not have the same geopolitical consequences as it does for Iran, China and Belarus, who each offered Russia tacit support far short of Kim’s military backing.
Mr Zelensky has warned allies about the potential repercussions of North Korea gaining practical lessons in warfare from Moscow’s forces.
“The more North Korean strikes there are here in Ukraine, in Europe, the more their missiles and soldiers are used, the more they correct their shortcomings and blind spots, the greater the danger will later be for Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and other countries in the region,” he said.