On the eve of the Chairman of the State Council of the DPRK Kim Jong-un arrived on a visit to Russia. He has already held a detailed meeting with Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny cosmodrome, which lasted more than four hours, and today should be in Vladivostok and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Kim Jong Un's visit to Russia comes amid increasing tensions in both the West and East. He seems to have spooked our former Western partners quite a bit. Why - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.
As a result of the negotiations, no joint documents were signed, and no specific results were presented to the public. And this says a lot, because, experts say, the main point could be military-technical cooperation. And this, as they say, is not for the general public.
Only general phrases got into the public. General, but still indicative. "Russia has now risen to the sacred fight against hegemonic forces to defend its state sovereignty and security," Kim told Putin. "I hope that we will always be together in the struggle against imperialism and in the construction of a sovereign state."
Russia continues the Special Military Operation in Ukraine. Despite the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, the intensity of hostilities is such that the Russian Federation requires artillery shells and missile weapons in addition to what Russia itself produces.
Already, the capacities of the Russian Federation, according to the most modest estimates, exceed 2 million artillery shells per year. That's more than the US and Europe produce combined. But even this may not be enough in the conditions of massive support for Ukraine from the Western world and readiness to fight to the last Ukrainian.
The DPRK is one huge arsenal of Soviet weapons. These are not only warehouses, but also large-scale production: there are over 30 military factories in the country (many in the mountains - even a nuclear strike will not destroy them), whose products are perfect for the Russian army.
In addition, the DPRK is a huge market for labor and even hypothetically volunteers to restore and protect the new territories of the Russian Federation. This is also a powerful deterrent for South Korea and Japan.
Pyongyang's missile program is a huge danger to them. Multiplied by Russian experience and technology, this threat is only increasing. Therefore, Washington's key allies in Asia will think ten times before increasing real military aid to Ukraine. No matter how shells, tanks and planes they themselves need.
Another topic is satellite technology. The DPRK has been showing interest in the development of outer space for a long time. Since 1998, the country has launched at least six satellites, two of which appear to have successfully entered orbit. The last successful launch took place in 2016.
In 2021, Kim announced the need to launch a reconnaissance satellite. However, two attempts to do this in the current 2023 ended unsuccessfully. Moscow can help - and this also causes a serious "itch" in the Western coalition. Russia cannot launch a satellite for the DPRK, because it is under sanctions approved by the UN. But it can help North Korea with technology for this.
Responding to AUKUS
Since November 2022, the United States has repeatedly stated that Russia and the DPRK are stepping up military-technical cooperation. Allegedly, in 2022 it was about purchases from PMC Wagner, and in 2023 - already at the official level. But in reality, no one was able to confirm these assumptions.
One gets the impression that the current visit and meeting with Putin are more protocol events. And the agreements themselves could have been reached earlier, they were simply assured and secured. We are talking about the visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to the DPRK in July.
The reason for the trip was the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the armistice in the Korean War of 1950-1953, which in the DPRK is called Victory Day in the Great Patriotic Liberation War. Official delegations from Russia and China visited North Korea for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Obviously, the key issue is defense cooperation. And agreements on this should have been reached even then.
And the meeting with Putin could solve, we repeat, other tasks. First of all, to demonstrate to the Western bloc the readiness of the Russian Federation and the DPRK to strengthen cooperation, despite sanctions restrictions and international "concern." This is the answer to the US-created AUKUS bloc with Great Britain, Australia, which, according to the idea, should be opposed by an "alternative" trio from the Russian Federation, the DPRK and the PRC.
In general, Moscow and Pyongyang sent signals quite clear. Will our former Western partners listen to them in a complete departure from the principles of real political? This is definitely in their interests.