Moscow-Pyongyang rapprochement: Putin accepted Kim's invitation to North Korea

The day after the official meeting between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin in Russia, the North Korean news agency announced that Vladimir Putin had agreed to visit North Korea at the invitation of its leader. A rapprochement that worries the UN and Japan.

Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome on September 13, 2023. AP

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This is the first meeting between the two leaders since Kim Jong-un's previous trip to Vladivostok in 2019. At the end of this meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to visit North Korea at the invitation of its leader Kim Jong-un, who was exceptionally traveling to Russia to strengthen ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, including military.

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Kim Jong-un courteously invited Putin to visit the DPRK when it suits him," North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported Thursday, using North Korea's official name. "Putin gladly accepted the invitation and reaffirmed his unwavering willingness to continue advancing the history and tradition of Russia-DPRK friendship," the agency said.

In a sign of the strengthening of their ties, Moscow has proposed to Pyongyang to send a North Korean cosmonaut into space, according to Russian agencies. It would be the first North Korean to enter Earth orbit, as the reclusive country seeks to expand its space programs. The North Korean leader assured Vladimir Putin that Moscow would win a "great victory" over its enemies, Russia having been engaged in a war in Ukraine for more than a year and a half.

The Russian president toasted the "future strengthening of cooperation" with Pyongyang, speaking to the press of "prospects" of military cooperation despite international sanctions targeting North Korea because of its nuclear programs and developing missiles. The North Korean leader also said he was ready to work out a "plan for the next 100 years" with Vladimir Putin to establish stable and "forward-looking" relations, KCNA reported Thursday.

" READ ALSO Exceptional summit between Putin and Kim Jong-un: "A confession of weakness on the part of Putin"

UN warning

If, for the moment, nothing has been officially communicated concerning a possible agreement for deliveries of military equipment to Russia to support its offensive in Ukraine, this rapprochement is closely scrutinized at the UN. North Korea is subject to sanctions imposed by the Security Council and any exchange of arms is, on paper, prohibited.

But Washington is convinced: Kim Jung-un's visit to Russia is not a simple review of Russian space forces for potential future cooperation between the two countries, reports our correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten. So while cautious, when asked by the press for his reaction, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Moscow: "Any form of cooperation by any country with North Korea must respect the sanctions regime imposed by the UN Security Council." Munitions supplied by Pyongyang would have a significant impact on the conflict in Ukraine.

For Ulrich Bounat, a geopolitical analyst and expert on defense issues, "all Moscow is looking for is to try to obtain artillery shells and short-range missiles. North Korea's arsenal is made up of a lot of artillery. North Korea has an extremely large stockpile of artillery to pose a risk to South Korea. In this context, North Korea could give artillery shells, or even possibly some cannons to Russia.

But the geopolitical analyst still sees several limitations to this possibility: "Already, on the one hand, we have no visibility on the quantity and quality especially of the stocks of the North Korean army, and on the other hand, I do not see North Korea completely emptying its stocks to support Russia and suddenly, eventually losing one of its levers of pressure on Seoul. So what we could consider in relation to artillery is perhaps a symbolic gesture on the part of North Korea that would perhaps aim to give a little artillery, but not enough to finally change the front in Ukraine. I am not completely sure that North Korea has the capacity to increase its production rate to compensate for Russian launches in Ukraine.

Japan also stressed on Thursday a risk of "violation" of United Nations sanctions on North Korea's armaments. "We are monitoring [the talks between Moscow and Pyongyang] with concern," especially because there is "the possibility that this could lead to a violation of the United Nations Security Council's ban on arms transactions with North Korea," said Japan's new Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.

" READ ALSO "The rapprochement between Japan and South Korea endorsed" at the tripartite summit with Washington

(

and with AFP)

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• Russia
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