Russia's Putin 'desperate' for ammunition reaches North Korea

Ahead of his arrival, his first visit to North Korea in nearly a quarter century, Putin thanked Kim for “strongly supporting” his war against Ukraine, fueling concerns that the two leaders would use the visit to deepen their military partnership in the face of Western efforts. . to isolate them.

Washington and its allies have expressed concern about growing military cooperation between the two states at a time when Moscow is hungry for weapons to use in its war against Ukraine. North Korea has a large stockpile of dated artillery shells and rockets believed to be compatible with Soviet and Russian weapons systems used in Ukraine.

State Department on Tuesday said North Korea has “transferred dozens of ballistic missiles and more than 11,000 containers of munitions to aid Russia's war effort” in recent months.

Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia, said the trip highlighted how Putin has turned away from the West and become dependent on Kim for partners to support his war in Ukraine.

“I think the fact that Putin has to come to North Korea to pay his respects shows how desperate he is for the ammunition he needs from North Korea,” McFall said. “It's a huge reversal from 10 to 20 years ago when Putin was strong. Now he needs weapons, and he needs Kim Jong Un, and he needs weapons for his war in Ukraine.”

As Putin stepped off his plane onto a red carpet, Kim greeted him with a handshake and hug, according to footage captured by Russian media. The streets of Pyongyang were lined with Russian flags and banners welcoming Putin, Russian media videos showed. Kim accompanied Putin in his private car to the Kumsusan State Guesthouse, where the Russian leader will be staying, North Korean state media said.

Putin brought a large delegation of top government officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Mantrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Defense Minister Andrei Belosov, according to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea will hold a welcoming ceremony on Wednesday afternoon. The two leaders will then have a “tête-à-tête” during a walk around the North Korean leader's residence and a tea party, Russia's Tass news agency reported.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top foreign policy adviser, told state media on Monday that the program for the two-day summit would be “very intensive”. According to Russian state media, the two leaders are expected to meet on Wednesday on ways to strengthen their strategic cooperation on a range of issues, including security issues.

The two leaders are likely to deepen their efforts to counter U.S.-led sanctions and Putin over his aggression in Ukraine, and Kim over his pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Putin endorsed such efforts in an article published Tuesday in KCNA: “We will build alternative trade and mutual settlement systems not controlled by the West, jointly oppose illegal unilateral restrictions, and shape an equal and indivisible security architecture in Eurasia.”

Putin's visit mirrors Kim's trip to Russia's Far East in September, when the North Korean leader called his country's relationship with Russia his top priority and pledged support for Moscow's “holy struggle” against Ukraine.

Putin's pivot to closer ties with Kim reflects the Russian leader's shift in how he views Russia's role in reining in North Korea's nuclear and ballistic ambitions, McFaul said.

“At the beginning of his career, he still wanted to be part of the international community of states … on proliferation, which put Russia on our side with North Korea,” he said. “It has completely changed now. I think Putin has just decided that he has acted as a stakeholder in the international community. … I think as long as he was the leader of Russia, Russia progressed.”

The White House has repeatedly accused North Korea of ​​sending Russia “equipment and munitions” to replenish its depleted supplies for the war in Ukraine, including ballistic missiles and missile launchers with a range of about 550 miles.

Additionally, North Korea has a production capability that will help Russia maintain its high ammunition burn rate as the Kremlin seeks to increase domestic production.

This dynamic gave Kim a rare bargaining chip. Given North Korea's history of military dependence on the Soviet Union, this contrasts with their relationship, including the Soviet-backed invasion of the South that sparked the 1950–1953 Korean War.

Daniel K. “This summit serves as a testament to the current strength of the relationship between the two countries and an even stronger partnership in the future,” said Lami Kim, a professor at the Inoue Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Honolulu.

Kim added that economic and military cooperation between the two leaders would “further weaken the effectiveness of sanctions against North Korea, increase North Korea's military capabilities, and improve Kim Jong Un's legitimacy to rule domestically.”

The visit will also highlight the longevity of authoritarian leadership in both countries: Putin last visited North Korea 24 years ago, shortly after he first became president, when the country was led by the current leader's father, Kim Jong Il.

Their meeting highlighted how China might respond to the warming relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow – what China could gain from it or what it could do to prevent it. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has sided with Putin and Kim in their quest to rebuild global power and end US hegemony in world affairs. But China does not want to see North Korea fuel its nuclear ambitions.

When Xi and Putin met in China in May, the two leaders agreed to “constructive talks” with North Korea on allowing Chinese ships to navigate the Tumen River into the Sea of ​​Japan or the East Sea, according to their joint statement.

Ba Dianjun, a professor at Jilin University's Northeast Asian Research Center, said China hopes Putin's visit to Pyongyang will accelerate discussions on the issue and pave the way for trilateral development in the region.

“China raised the issue before, but it didn't work out because our economies were developing at an uneven pace,” Ba said, adding that Russia was concerned about access that gave China too much control in Northeast Asia while North Korea got more of it. Leasing port facilities to China is profitable. Ba's views echo those of China's state media.

“The world looks vastly different now, and we have resumed efforts and are on the right track,” Ba said, pointing to renewed interest in doubling down on regional economic cooperation as China, North Korea and Russia all work on their respective economies. Suffering

Lyric Lee in Seoul contributed to this report.