Putin visits North Korea: “Russia must now give something back”

Putin and Kim only saw each other in Moscow last September. Now the Russian head of state is traveling to North Korea. Relations have long been much more distant. An expert explains the change.

Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang follows a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Russia last autumn. For the Russian president, it is not just about showing that he still has friends, says James Brown of Temple University in Tokyo.

Brown recalls that North Korea supported Russia “very intensively” in its war in Ukraine with a lot of military equipment. “Russia must now give something back,” and the visit to Pyongyang is “one way” to do that – in addition to further support for Kim’s weapons and satellite program.

However, Brown is convinced that Putin will not go any further. Support for the North Korean nuclear program is taboo for him.

A consequence of sober considerations

Kim and Putin are connected by a partnership of convenience, not friendship, says Brown, even though Putin and Kim tried hard to give a different impression at their recent meeting. For example, Putin gave Kim the same luxury limousine that he himself likes to drive.

But that is “just window dressing”. When Russia still had several options a few years ago, it was not interested in North Korea. Russia also supported the UN sanctions against the country for a long time.

The two simply don’t fit together in terms of personality, says the political scientist. Putin always emphasizes health and his interest in sports – and that can hardly be said about Kim Jong Un, who chain smokes and is clearly overweight.

The political science professor estimates that both will perhaps sign some kind of agreement in the end, but doubts that there will be a new edition of a friendship treaty in which both promise, for example, to help the other in an emergency situation.

Russia has no interest in being drawn into another Korean War. Just as Russia’s support for China does not mean that Moscow will automatically be involved in a military conflict over Taiwan.

The view of the People’s Republic

The People’s Republic of China, on the other hand, is observing the cooperation between the two countries from a distance, says Brown. When former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu proposed trilateral military exercises between Russia, the People’s Republic of China and North Korea in September, the Chinese side reacted very cautiously.

The US could have seen this as a new axis of evil – and China wanted to avoid that.