They stick together in crisis situations: Due to international sanctions, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un look after each other.
Moscow/Pyongyang – North Korea and Russia have something in common. Both countries are isolated from Western states. While Russia is at war with Ukraine, experts warn of a possible war between North and South Korea. Russia's President Wladimir Putin and North Korea's rulers Kim Jong Un According to US intelligence information, they are supposed to support each other. Putin gives North Korea access to financial resources In return, Kim Jong-un should hold on to arms deliveries.
Russia and North Korea deals: money in exchange for weapons for Ukraine
According to a US intelligence official, Russia is believed to have released $9 million out of a total of $30 million in frozen North Korean assets New York Times reported. This allows North Korea to circumvent international sanctions. Russia receives in return continued North Korean missiles and artillery ammunition for the Ukraine war.
The money is said to have been deposited at a Russian financial institution. North Korea will probably use the money to buy crude oil, according to the report. Kim Jong-un had just a few days ago “Terrible situation” in the country was brought to attention. The poor care of the people in North Korea has been leading to famine for a long time.
North Korea circumvents UN sanctions with Russia's help – ammunition for war in Ukraine
In addition, a North Korean shell company had recently opened an account at another Russian bank, the intelligence official explained. This could indicate that North Korea, with Russia's support, is trying to circumvent UN sanctions. A senior US official told the New York Timesthat North Korea would help Russia in return with North Korean arms transfers.
There have been frequent meetings between the two countries in recent months. Kim Jong-un met with Putin's foreign minister in Pyongyang last fall and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui only visited Putin in Moscow in January. According to the deputy head of Ukraine's Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR), Vadym Skibitsky, North Korea is believed to have delivered one million rounds of artillery ammunition to Russia between September and November 2023. However, the North Korean deliveries are causing problems among Putin's troops.
Russia's cooperation with North Korea: “Friends with benefits”
The think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assumes that Russia would be open to cooperation with North Korea in finance, technology and defense if North Korea provides artillery ammunition and ballistic missiles for the Ukraine war. North Korea could also benefit from cooperation with Russia. By using North Korean weapons in Ukraine, technical data on performance could be collected and used for research and development in North Korea.
Former CIA analyst Soo Kim said in the New York Times Doubts about the friendship of the autocrats. Even if the two states were currently “friends with benefits,” she cannot imagine that Russia’s trust would increase North Korea was so large that the country would “give away its valuable secrets.” (vk)
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