North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Travels to Russia

Facts

• According to Japan's Kyodo news agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia's Far East on Tuesday. He is reportedly traveling from Pyongyang in order to attend a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.¹
• The heavily armored private train made a brief stop at Khasan station, allowing the North Korean leader to disembark and meet local officials before continuing his journey. The visit comes amid warnings from the US that Moscow and Pyongyang may be looking to strike an arms deal.²
• Ahead of the meeting, Russian state news agency RIA cited the Russian president's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, who revealed that 'delegation talks and, if necessary, a one-on-one meeting with Putin' were being planned. It has been reported that Putin arrived in Vladivostok on Monday.³
• Putin's trip to Vladivostok also coincides with plans for the president to speak at the Eastern Economic Forum, according to the Kremlin. However, the date of Putin's speech at the event has not yet been revealed.⁴
• The trip will be Kim's second known visit to Russia. It is believed that, during the summit, North Korea may offer artillery shells, rockets, and small arms ammunition to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine in return for grain, oil, and military technology.⁵
• This news comes after US national security adviser Jake Sullivan claimed earlier this week that North Korea would 'pay a price' for supplying Russia with military assistance and called on the country to 'abide by its public commitments' and prohibit the 'killing [of] Ukrainians.'⁶

Sources: ¹Guardian (a), ²CNN, ³Nk news, ⁴Independent, ⁵Al Jazeera and ⁶Guardian (b).

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Guardian. North Korea is one of the only nations to have backed Russia's invasion of Ukraine from within the UN, despite the unsteady and dangerous relationship the two countries have held for several decades. North Korea remains an unreliable partner and Moscow must seriously consider whether it wishes to place such powerful military technology in the hands of Kim Jong Un. While such a move may benefit Russia in Ukraine in the short-term, the decision could be crippling for global security in the years to come.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by India tribune. While the West continues to impose a variety of sanctions against Russia and North Korea, for many other nations it is business as usual in their relationship with the two countries. Any exchange of nuclear secrets is unlikely to occur, but the threat of such a reality is useful in keeping the US, South Korea, and Japan at bay. Russia and North Korea have an amicable diplomatic history, and though relations have not always been smooth, a rekindling of this partnership while the West unifies against the two should not come as a surprise.

Predictions