North Korea’s Kim goes to Russia with arms

Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of the world’s most isolated state, embarked on his first foreign trip in four years today but his choice of destination is sparking fears that two of the most hostile nations to the West are about to finalise an arms deal.

The reclusive and paranoid North Korean leader made his 20-hour journey to visit President Putin in Russia’s far east on his luxury 21-carriage bulletproof train, equipped with pink leather sofas, a karaoke room, live lobsters and bookended by 90 cars to ensure his security. 

 No-one is revealing the precise time or location of the two leaders’ meeting. 

The last time Kim met with Putin was in 2019, against a decidedly different geopolitical backdrop. At the time, Russia was still backing UN sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea’s weapons nuclear programmes and the Russian leader even briefed the Trump administration on the outcome of his meeting with Kim. 

Much has changed since then. A shared enemy – in the form of Washington – has brought these two heavily sanctioned countries closer together. And a highly transactional relationship is emerging between Pyongyang and Moscow, in which both have recognised they stand to gain from closer ties. 

Putin wants to replenish his munition stocks to bolster his war efforts in Ukraine. And North Korea, which is thought to have tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets compatible with Soviet-era weapons, comes in handy on this front.

In return for munitions, Moscow is expected to offer humanitarian aid to sanction-starved North Korea to help alleviate the pariah state’s food shortages. 

More worrying is the speculation that Kim could decide to be a little more demanding of a weakened Russia. To be more precise, he may ask Moscow to hand over advanced weapons technology or knowledge, that would allow North Korea to make breakthroughs in his own nuclear weapons programme.

Pyongyang is still struggling to master key strategic weapons, such as a nuclear-armed submarine, and failed late last month for the second time to place a spy satellite in orbit after a rocket failure. Moscow – if it chose to – could almost certainly help on this front. 

While Kim’s offerings of ammunitions are – certainly for Kyiv – the more immediate threat, what North Korea could get in return for its arms sales is arguably an even graver long term concern.

Notably, China has remained wary about being seen to facilitate Pyongyang’s military ambitions despite being its closest ally. Yet there’s no guarantee that the same will apply to Russia’s increasingly reckless leader. 

Yet some defence analysts are sceptical that Putin would be willing to hand out expertise in nuclear weapons. It’s certainly a tall ask. And one which Moscow could well live to regret.

A common enemy – and isolation from much of the world – has brought the two leaders together. But even Putin probably knows that Kim is no trustworthy long-term ally. 

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