Vladimir Putin meets with Kim Jong Un as ties between Russia and North Korea grow stronger.

 

Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin. AP.

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un meet as ties between Russia and North Korea grow stronger. AP. Putin visited North Korea for the first time in 24 years. The two leaders vowed support for each other against US Sanctions and vowed to start a multipolar world. Russia has been receiving arms from North Korea for use in Ukraine in exchange for economic and nuclear weapon help. Putin also said that they would have better relations on tourism, culture and education. The meeting comes as tensions on the Korean peninsula are high. Just today South Korea opened fire on North Korean troops that crossed into the DMZ, presumably by accident. 

My Comment:

It seems clear that the window that Donald Trump opened towards normalizing relations with North Korea and ending the war in Korea has been closed, perhaps for good. North Korea is now firmly in the sphere of Russia's influence and it won't be leaving anytime soon. 

Both sides are obviously getting something they need out of this. Though Russia's arms production is stronger than the west, they still need additional capacity and North Korea is another obvious source of weapons for them. The North Koreans are getting much needed money and prestige from their relationship with Russia and are getting a boost to their nuclear weapons program. It's a win-win relationship for both of them. 

I also don't think the DMZ incident is unrelated. North Korea has been harassing the South for awhile now, with them dropping garbage onto the south and now crossing the border again. I don't think these incidents are preparation for war, but are there to cause one more headache for North Korea and Russia's mutual enemy, the Biden administration. It's just another tire fire that Biden will have to deal with in addition to Ukraine, and there is little evidence he will be able handle it. 

Russia's investment in North Korea might reverse some of the major problems they have had. Keep in mind that whenever the weather gets bad, people starve in North Korea. With Russian help they might be able to avoid that and could turn their economy around as well. Given the demand for weapons Russia has right now, they should be making a mint. 

I do wonder if this new link to Russia could change North Korea for the better. North Korea is one of the most oppressive countries in the world and Russia is a paradise in comparison. It's very possible that Russians in the country could have a liberalizing effect on the North Korean people and could even improve conditions. That could be wishful thinking on my part though. 

It's also possible that North Korea's infamous isolationist attitude could destroy their relations with Russia as well. If Russia does have a liberalizing influence in North Korea the Kim family could see that as a threat and could clamp down and kick Russia back out. But if that happens it probably won't be anytime soon, in the short time this is a big win for both countries. 

It's also a big embarrassment for the Biden administration's foreign policy. Their policy of sanctions over diplomacy is backfiring yet again. It has made a pretty strong de facto anti-western alliance with Russia, China, North Korea and Iran all working together and slowly pulling off chunks of the third world. It seems pretty clear that Putin's ideas about a multipolar world could very well come to pass.