Why Is Putin Going To Visit Kim Jong-Un?

A Ukrainian expert talks about “the union of a haberdasher and a cardinal”.

Political expert, director of the Center for Civil Society Research Vitaly Kulik revealed the nuances of the relationship between the two dictators — the head of the DPRK Kim Jong-un and the master of the Kremlin Vladimir Putin.

According to him, recently “Kim Jong-un is Putin's closest friend”. Quite intensive contacts are maintained at the leadership level of the two countries, and North Korea has reached the level of strategic partnership with the aggressor country Russia.

“Russia at one time supported the introduction of sanctions against the DPRK, and also contributed to the regime of restrictions and embargoes, and now, together with China, it is arming the DPRK and providing it with high technology, thus destroying the regime of restrictions that was established by the UN Security Council,” Kulik said in an interview with Glavred.

According to the expert, North Korea is currently increasing its potential, and the Russians are transferring technologies to it, primarily space technologies.

“In addition, the DPRK is interested in developing a nuclear submarine that could carry nuclear weapons, and it is quite possible that they are already working on it at shipyards in North Korea or Russia. Plus, we are talking about certain types of weapons: electronic warfare, drones, heavy equipment, which the DPRK is interested in. Russia is ready to transfer all of this to the DPRK in exchange for ammunition,” Kulik explained.

He recalled that the Russian occupation army is already using North Korean ammunition and missiles in the war against Ukraine.

“The volumes of supplies fluctuate and are often determined by negotiations: preparations for negotiations begin — supplies of ammunition go to Russia, certain issues in relations arise — supplies decrease. This is evident from the number of wagons that cross Khasan on the border of North Korea and Russia,” he noted.

In addition, Kulik believes that it is advantageous for Russia to use North Korea to play out scenarios of escalating confrontation on the Korean Peninsula in order to distract the US from Ukraine.

“It should also be noted that Kim has a certain peculiarity: he believes that personal meetings and contacts are a sign of his strength. Therefore, Putin’s visit to the DPRK is a story for ten years: there will be 10 years of maximum propaganda that will present relations with the Russian Federation as an alliance, as an axis, as allied relations, like in the Soviet film about the musketeers — “the haberdasher and the cardinal”. Although in fact, Russia has not had any allied obligations to North Korea for a long time,” the expert added.