Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea expectedly caused a great international response. But the most important news from him is perhaps that, as a result of the visit, Moscow and Pyongyang brought their relations to the highest level since the Cold War, which cannot but worry the West, notes the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have struck a comprehensive cooperation agreement that includes a clause for mutual military assistance in the event either side is subject to “aggression,”, a strategic document they signed amid heightened confrontation with the western powers.
For now, all the details of the agreement, which represents perhaps the most serious strengthening of ties between Moscow and Pyongyang since the Cold War, are not entirely clear. The two leaders said that bilateral relations will be raised to a qualitatively new level thanks to the comprehensive document covering various fields such as security, culture, trade, investment, humanitarian relations and others.
The Putin-Kim summit came as part of the Russian president's first visit to North Korea in 24 years and amid concerns by the US and its allies that part of the agreement between the two countries could be an agreement for Pyongyang to supplied Moscow with much-needed ammunition for its war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian economic support and technological assistance in developing Kim's nuclear-missile program, the latter of which would pose a particular risk, the Associated Press notes.
The North Korean leader said that Russia and the DPRK are bound by a “fiery friendship” and added that the agreement they reached was the most important treaty in the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which he said practically elevated ties between them to the level of union. Kim also promised full support for the Russian war in Ukraine.
Putin, for his part, defined the signed document as “fundamental“ and reflecting the desire of both countries to deepen their ties.
In 1961, North Korea and the former Soviet Union entered into a pact that experts say provided for Moscow to intervene with military force to help North Korea if the latter was attacked. The agreement became null and void after the collapse of the USSR and was replaced in 2000 by a document giving less definite security guarantees to the DPRK. So far, the contours of the new agreement in its military part are not entirely clear, and in particular it is not known whether it contains the same obligations to the defense of North Korea as the one of 1961.
North Korea is under heavy international sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council over its weapons programs, and Russia is also under a severe economic embargo by the US and Western partners over its invasion of Ukraine.
Washington and US ally South Korea accuse the North of supplying Russia with artillery, missiles and other military materials in exchange for technology and humanitarian aid. On Tuesday, a US State Department official said that North Korea has in recent months “illegally provided Moscow with dozens of ballistic missiles and more than 11,000 containers of ammunition for the Russian military in Ukraine”.
Pyongyang and Moscow reject accusations of making such deliveries, which would be in violation of a number of sanctions imposed on North Korea by the UN Security Council and adopted with the participation of Russia itself.
A spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry, which is in charge of inter-Korean relations, said Seoul was still analyzing the results of the Putin-Kim summit and, in particular, exactly what aid obligations Moscow had undertaken in the event of an attack. against the North.
A GOOD WAY TO ANNOY THE WEST
Sam Green of the Center for European Policy Analysis told The Associated Press that he thinks Putin's visit to Pyongyang shows how appreciative the Russian leader has become toward certain countries since he invaded Ukraine.
„At one time, North Korean delegations always came to Moscow, not the other way around,” the expert said, adding that the visit was a good way to “unnerve the West” by showing that Russia has interests and influence far beyond the borders of Ukraine.
According to the National Security Institute, a think tank close to South Korean intelligence, behind this rapprochement may be North Korea's desire to negotiate the sending of more North Korean workers to Russia and other activities as a roundabout way to acquire foreign currency in violation of UN sanctions. Another goal of Pyongyang, according to the Institute's assessment, may be to deepen cooperation in sectors such as agriculture, fishing, mining and tourism against the background of the dire economic and food situation in North Korea.
The deepening of the partnership between Pyongyang and Moscow is a cause for concern in South Korea, given that it is happening at a time of heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula. The situation in this region has permanently entered an escalation cycle, in which North Korea conducts weapons tests and military exercises, to which the US, Japan and South Korea then respond in mirror form with joint maneuvers of their armed forces.
CHINA REACTS TEAKLY TO RUSSIA-NORTH KOREA APPROACH
China is the DPRK's most important ally and largest trade and economic partner. A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing described the high-level contacts between Moscow and Pyongyang as “bilateral arrangements between sovereign states”.
According to analysts, China's reaction, in addition to being frugal and restrained, can also be defined as showing reserve.
China has some reservations about North Korea's deepening military cooperation with Russia because it could threaten the near-monopoly nature of China's geopolitical influence over Pyongyang, Tong Zhao of the Carnegie Endowment for World Peace told Reuters. . “China also does not want to give the impression that a triple alliance between Moscow, Pyongyang and Beijing is actually emerging, as this would harm its political cooperation with some key Western countries.“
Sino-North Korean relations are unlikely to change, but Kim's interactions with Putin and their unpredictable behavior create uncertainty for Beijing, Yoon Sun, a China expert at Washington's Stimson Center, also told Reuters.
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„While this policy course (of Pyongyang) is at a stage where it has not yet obtained clear outlines and does not contradict Chinese interests, I think Beijing will rather monitor the development of relations from the sidelines,”, she said.
In her words, the rapprochement between Pyongyang and Moscow is not necessarily a bad thing for China, because it still diverts US attention in another direction, which benefits Beijing.
„China just needs to be careful that all this does not look like the formation of some kind of tripartite alliance, because such a development is not in its interest,” Yun Sun added.