MOSCOW-PYONGYANG DEFENCE COOPERATION
A North Korean defence ministry official in November said Pyongyang has “never had ‘arms dealings’ with Russia” and has “no plan to do so in the future”.
Moscow and Pyongyang have promised to boost defence cooperation.
Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who visited Pyongyang in July to attend weapons displays that included North Korea’s banned ballistic missiles, said on Monday the two countries are discussing the possibility of joint military exercises.
“Just as you can tell a person by their friends, you can tell a country by the company it keeps,” said Keir Giles, Senior Consulting Fellow with Chatham House’s Russia & Eurasia Programme. “In Russia’s case, that company now consists largely of fellow rogue states”.
The trip would be Kim’s first visit abroad in more than four years and the first since the coronavirus pandemic.
While he made more trips abroad than his father as leader, Kim’s travel is often shrouded in secrecy and heavy security. Unlike his father who was said to be averse to flying, Kim has flown his personal Russian-made jet for some of his trips but US officials told the New York Times that he may take an armoured train across the land border North Korea shares with Russia.
Kim is likely to want to emphasize a sense of Russian backing, and may seek deals on arms sales, aid, and sending labourers to Russia, said Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Kookmin University.
The United States in August imposed sanctions on three entities it accused of being tied to arms deals between North Korea and Russia.
North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006 and had been testing various missiles over recent years.
Russia has joined China in opposing new sanctions on North Korea, blocking a US-led push and publicly splitting the UN Security Council for the first time since it started punishing Pyongyang in 2006.
Source: CNA
