Vladimir Putin Seeks Allies in North Korea to Distance from China
There are times when Russia, with nearly 146 million inhabitants spread over 17,234,033 square kilometers accounting for 11.5% of the earth’s surface, may find itself in need of a country 143 times smaller, with just over 25 million people. This is the case currently with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Russian President Vladimir Putin, amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, aims to demonstrate that his country is not entirely reliant on China. While China assists Moscow economically, it refrains from supplying weaponry. Conversely, North Korea can provide Russia with various arms it manufactures and stockpiles.
Similarly to Russia, North Korea disregards the sanctions imposed by the United States and various international bodies. For nearly a year, the Russian military has been utilizing North Korean weapons, and on June 19, Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang to formalize and enhance this cooperation.
For over seventy years, the Marxist regime in power in Pyongyang has been able to pursue its own foreign policy while maintaining strong ties with both Beijing and Moscow. Constantly mindful of its security, North Korea has amassed a significant arsenal and occasionally tests nuclear missiles in the Sea of Japan. The regime also manufactures and stockpiles sufficient arms and ammunition to be sold to interested parties.
These reasons clarify Vladimir Putin’s trip to Pyongyang. He is acquainted with Kim Jong-un, who visited him twice in Russia’s Far East in April 2019 and September 2023.
Strategic Partnership Agreement
Upon arrival, Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to North Korea for its assistance in the “special military operation” initiated by Russia in Ukraine. He told Kim Jong-un, “We greatly appreciate your systematic and unwavering support of Russian policy, including on the Ukrainian matter.”
In return, the Russian president announced his support for North Korea against U.S. “pressures, blackmail, and military threats.” It is also planned to establish commercial and security systems between Moscow and Pyongyang beyond Western oversight. These developments led Kim Jong-un to speak of a “new era” in his country’s relations with Russia and to dub the Russian president as North Korea’s “best friend.” The signing of a “strategic partnership agreement” on June 19 detailed the understanding between North Korea and Russia. It involves mutual assistance in case of aggression, as indicated by Vladimir Putin. While the full text of this agreement has not been fully disclosed, the Russian president clarified it applies solely to Russia and Korea, both pursuing independent foreign policies. Notably, China was conspicuously absent in these discussions.
A Military Ally
By significantly aligning more with North Korea than before, Vladimir Putin sought to show that Russia desires a military partner, which China carefully avoids providing. Although Beijing had declared an “unlimited friendship” with Moscow when the Ukraine conflict was brewing, China refrained from fully supporting Russia’s actions. China instead has taken advantage of the isolation brought on Russia by the war to significantly boost their trade exchanges. It appears clear that Beijing respects its 2022 commitment to the U.S. not to supply military equipment to Russia. Chinese leaders understand that supporting the Russian military would carry severe repercussions for China’s international trade.
The desire for the Ukraine conflict to continue lingers in Beijing.
Additionally, China may benefit from Russia being the primary target of Western criticisms and sanctions. Condemnations of Russian actions in Ukraine divert attention away from U.S. and increasingly EU criticisms of numerous Chinese commercial practices. Moreover, mentions of human rights violations in China, particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet regions, have been less prominent.
The desire for the Ukraine conflict to persist remains in Beijing. Requests from certain U.S. or European officials for President Xi Jinping to influence Vladimir Putin toward ending the Ukraine war are unlikely to succeed.
Unsettling Beijing; Not Surprising the U.S.
However, Putin’s trip to Pyongyang revealing that Russians have partners other than China in Asia has likely irked Beijing. On June 19, the day of the meeting in the North Korean capital, a spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, stated at a press conference that it was a bilateral exchange between Russia and North Korea, without further elaborating.
The official news agency Xinhua reported Putin’s arrival in Pyongyang, citing the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), stating that “Mr. Kim shook hands with Mr. Putin and warmly embraced him. The leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea expressed his joy and contentment in meeting Mr. Putin… The Russian president expressed deep gratitude toward him for the welcome at the airport…”
Another news dispatch, composed by Xinhua’s correspondent in Moscow, points out that Russia and North Korea signed a global strategic partnership agreement, with Putin affirming this “revolutionary new document” would form “the foundation of long-term relations between the two countries.” Apparently, Beijing felt an extended elaboration on Russo-Korean friendship was unnecessary.
However, on May 27 last year, Chinese press headlines focused on the China-Japan-South Korea summit held in Seoul. Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang participated in this tripartite meeting, urging Japan and South Korea to “appropriately resolve sensitive issues and disputes” before signing a declaration where all three nations affirmed their commitment to “peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” This pacifying call led to an unusual public admonition from Pyongyang towards Beijing.
In the U.S., Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea sparked some commentary. John Kirby, the White House National Security spokesperson, viewed the defense pact between Russia and North Korea signed in Pyongyang as an indication of Russia’s desperation for foreign aid in its Ukraine conflict. The U.S. and the UN are aware that Russia took an unprecedented step by using North Korean ballistic missiles, prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions, to target Ukraine.
The era of Donald Trump, the former U.S. President, attempting rapprochement between the U.S. and North Korea is over. Meetings in Singapore in 2018, Hanoi in 2019, and on the North-South Korea border the same year between Trump and Kim Jong-un did not lead to an American-North Korean alliance. Trump aimed to weaken Pyongyang’s ties with China by offering to lift international sanctions in return for nuclear program cessation, but the U.S.-Korea detente did not materialize.
Further Travels, Additional Support?
Four years later, on May 20, 2024, Vladimir Putin departed Pyongyang for a two-day visit to Hanoi, Vietnam. This Southeast Asian country remains officially communist, with a key historical relationship with the former USSR during its conflicts with the U.S. and later China in 1979. Vietnam continues to procure armaments from Russia owing to Chinese expansionist behaviors in the South China Sea.
However, staunchly supporting Russia in its Ukraine war does not seem to be on the Vietnamese leaders’ agenda. Unlike North Korea, Vietnam practices an economic openness contributing to a projected growth of around 6% this year. Various manufacturing productions, including semiconductor fabrication, sustain this growth. The Vietnamese industry seeks to maintain equilibrium and flexibility – a “bamboo diplomacy” – eschewing taking sides.
In the forthcoming months, Vladimir Putin may consider additional trips to underscore his international backing.
During his stay in Hanoi, Vladimir Putin learned that in Seoul, an advisor to the South Korean president mentioned reevaluating arms supplies to Ukraine following the defense agreement signing between North Korea and Russia. Thus far, South Korea refrained from supplying arms to a country in conflict. Putin warned that South Korea, a U.S. ally, making such a move would be a “grave mistake,” with Moscow retaliating “painfully for Seoul.”
These remarks triggered a U.S. reaction. Spokesperson Matthew Miller deemed Putin’s statements “extremely concerning.” “Providing arms to North Korea could destabilize the Korean Peninsula. Depending on the type of weapons supplied, this could violate UN Security Council resolutions supported by Russia.”
In conclusion, Putin’s international travels have become precarious since the International Criminal Court accused him of orchestrating the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, warranting an arrest. Nevertheless, his visit to North Korea provided a jurisdiction-free setting. Evidently, Putin aimed to exhibit autonomy from China, a crucial economic power Russia prefers not to detach entirely from.
