Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: With the 18-month-long invasion of Ukraine remaining indecisive, the aggressor’s economy and weaponry depleting faster than it ever did even in Afghanistan and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping fighting his own demons at home and overseas, Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to revive the conflict with help from the world’s most pariah state, North Korea (NoKo).
That was why the Russian President accorded a warm reception to NoKo’s hereditary dictator Kim Jong Un when the 39-year-old, no less insecure than his host, traveled overland by a bulletproof train from Pyongyang to a spaceport in the Far East on Wednesday to meet Putin, 70.
Their common objective: a weapons conference!
While Kim was out of NoKo, his country fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, the South Korean military said, the latest in a string of sanctions-busting tests, the media reported.
Kim vowed closer ties with Moscow, saying his isolated country would “always be with Russia.”
Russia became a pariah among the West and its allies after Putin launched full-scale hostilities— “a special military operation”– in Ukraine in February 2022, and looked to strengthen alliances with other hardline leaders ostracised by Western countries. NoKo fits the bill in Moscow’s quest.
To woo Pyongyang to supply weapons to Moscow, Putin said he was “very glad” to receive Kim. Russia could help NoKo build satellites, he said and hinted the two countries might also discuss military cooperation, the media reported.
Kim told Putin that his bilateral ties with Russia would be the “top priority” and that Moscow was facing down “hegemonist forces” seeking to undermine its security.
“We have always expressed full and unconditional support for all the measures taken by the Russian government, and I take this opportunity again to affirm that we will always be with Russia,” Kim said, the Russian TV reported.
The US said Russia could buy ammunition from NoKo for use in Ukraine — an arms deal that would defy global sanctions on Moscow.
The White House warned last week that North Korea would “pay a price” if it supplied Russia with weaponry for the conflict in Ukraine.
The two leaders met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region in Russia’s Far East, with footage released by the Kremlin showing the pair shaking hands enthusiastically as Kim arrived.
The two then toured assembly and launch facilities for the Angara and Soyuz-2 space rocket launchers before sitting down for talks with their delegations.
Experts say Russia might seek artillery shells and antitank missiles from North Korea, which wants advanced satellite and nuclear-powered submarine technology in return.
“We’ll talk about all the issues, without haste. There is time,” Putin said when reporters asked whether military cooperation would be on the agenda.
Kim was accompanied by an entourage that suggested the summit would have a strong military focus.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu took part in the talks with Kim, as did Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, images on Russian state television showed.
Ahead of the announcement of the talks, Russian news agencies published images of Kim and Putin touring the vast space center.
“The leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) shows great interest in rocket technology, and they are trying to develop (their presence in) space,” Putin said.
Kim thanked Putin for inviting him to visit, despite the Russian leader’s “busy schedule.” He had earlier stressed the trip — his first post-pandemic foreign travel — showed North Korea was “prioritizing the strategic importance” of its Russia ties.
Russia desperately needs NoKo’s stockpile of artillery shells, while Pyongyang is looking for help with satellite technology and upgrading its Soviet-era military equipment.
Russia’s Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov greeted Kim on his arrival and presented to him historic autographed photographs of Soviet cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, TASS reported.