While the summit between the leaders of Russia and North Korea on September 13 may appear to be Moscow’s admission of weakness, it also marks a new development in Moscow’s challenge to the global consensus against nuclear proliferation.
Due to an arrest warrant issued. By the International Court of Justice in connection with Russian abuses in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin was unable to attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg at the end of August. Or the G20 summit in New Delhi on September 9-10. Instead, on September 13, Putin and Kim Jong Un had a face-to-face encounter on Russia’s eastern borders. For lack of a better phrase, the ruler of Moscow has turned to a nation that is best described as an arsenal located in a barracks that is also run by a dictatorship. You grab the summit while you can.
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Due to his aggression in the field of nuclear weapons, Putin, who has become a pariah in at least one area of the world, spoke with the man who has benefited from this unfavorable reputation since he came to power over ten years ago. Their shared understanding is remarkable. In addition to its votes at the UN, North Korea was one of the very few nations to blatantly endorse Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The nation, which is virtually autonomous, needs technical assistance for obvious military purposes as well as food aid and foreign cash.
But if the meeting results in ammunition transfers, as is most likely to happen, this friendship that benefits both parties sounds even more like an admission of weakness from Putin in terms of his nation’s arms sector. Nobody contests the existence of North Korean stockpiles or the fact that they are compatible with Russian machinery. The dependability of these weapons is increasingly in doubt as a result of the international sanctions imposed against Pyongyang. North Korean shells failed with a high percentage during the 2010 bombardment of the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong.
