Vladimir Putin: Why would he go to Kim Jong Un – what would he ask him?

After Kim Jong Un’s big green bulletproof train toured the Russian Far East last year, the North Korean leader invited Putin to visit.

The Kremlin duly accepted and even confirmed this invitation.

The Kremlin announced that “at the invitation of the Head of State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin will pay a goodwill visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on June 18-19.”

Why now… this visit?

The Kremlin described the event as a “friendly state visit.” But why does it matter and why now?

First, there is natural curiosity, given that this will only be the second time Putin has visited North Korea — the first being in 2000 at the start of his presidential career, when Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, was still in supreme power. leader, BBC says.

But beyond that, the relationship has now shifted (although not to the levels it enjoyed during the Soviet Union) from mutual pleasantries to mutual benefits, which worries the West.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia last September to hold talks with Putin

The Kremlin said there was room for “very deep ties” between Russia and North Korea, and while it said that should not worry anyone, it advised those thinking of questioning the emerging ties to think again.

There has been a lot of speculation about what exactly the two sides want from each other. They seem to come down to the security of the show.

Exchanges

Russia will likely be looking for ammunition, construction workers and even volunteers to go to the front lines in Ukraine, says political scientist and Putin ally Sergei Markov.

In response, Markov adds, Pyongyang could receive Russian products, as well as technological assistance for military purposes, including its long-range missile program that will eventually be within striking distance of the United States.

A recent Bloomberg report, citing the South Korean Defense Ministry, indicates that North Korea has sent nearly five million artillery shells to Russia.

Finding a partner who shares the West’s strong disdain for sanctions, and therefore a willing partner to trade, is a major selling point for Russia.

The visit is expected to strengthen their relations and common hostility towards the West

This is because Russia and North Korea are the two countries that impose the most sanctions in the world – North Korea because it is developing nuclear weapons and conducting a series of ballistic missile tests.

Earlier this year, Moscow dealt a heavy blow to sanctions imposed on Pyongyang by vetoing a resolution in the United Nations Security Council to extend the term of the committee overseeing the sanctions.

Friendly diplomatic move or lack of other options?

There may be a true friendship between the two leaders, albeit a cautious and practical one. In February, Putin presented Kim with a luxury Russian limousine (in violation of UN sanctions).

Kim said that North Korea is an “invincible partner in the war” with Russia, in a recent message to President Putin. But it may just be a business move and no other options.

In particular: North Korea is now more valuable to an isolated Russia – and North Korea sees Moscow as needing friends. North Korea is subject to international sanctions because of its nuclear program.

By visiting North Korea, Putin may prove to his critics that he can and will do whatever he wants.

To find a way to circumvent Western sanctions imposed on his country? For now, yes, it can.

Convincing others to break sanctions and sell weapons to Russia? Of course yes.

And establishing new relations with countries around the world despite his so-called “special military operation”? He sure is trying.

He is looking for allies

Since President Putin ordered his troops into neighboring Ukraine, he has promoted the idea that Western hegemony has come to an end – and courted those who agree with him or are at least open to this philosophy.

The last time Putin visited North Korea was in 2000, during the first year of his presidency

At the recent economic forum in St. Petersburg, it was no coincidence that one of Putin’s main guests was the president of Zimbabwe – another country that felt the pinch of sanctions most acutely.

Russia fell flat on its face to show that it has many friends around the world singing the same song. From Asia, Latin America, and Africa – we welcome all who are disillusioned with the ways of the US-led world.

Indeed, when Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa took to the stage, President Putin’s words leapt out of his speech, with the emergence of a new “multipolar world” in contrast to an arrogant West determined to uphold its “global hegemony” at all costs.

Putin has also tried to establish closer ties with Iran, another country suffering from sanctions and willing to sell its military products — in Tehran’s case, drones. If that bothers the West, so much the better.

When President Putin finally boarded his plane to Pyongyang, he knew the images would captivate the world and leave no doubt that he was willing to do business and political business with partners of his choice.