Putin and Kim's Partnership is Deadly Serious

The Russia-North Korea alliance is a dangerous threat to global peace and security

Putin and Kim in 2019. (Kremlin/Creative Commons 4.0)

It's altogether too easy to focus on the pomp and circumstance ahead of Vladimir Putin's first visit to North Korea in 24 years. For example, billboards of Putin line the highways of the capital, Pyongyang, and the Kremlin put out a statement reminiscent of Soviet times calling North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un "comrade" and heralding the two countries' "glorious historical traditions." 

But the partnership between Putin and Kim is deadly serious. It has allowed Russia to continue its war of aggression in Ukraine amid ammunition shortfalls. There are fears that Russia may be helping modernize North Korea's nuclear weapons program, which is subject to a phalanx of U.N. sanctions. 

According to South Korea, North Korea has sent Russia up to 4.8 million artillery shells. It has also sent short-range ballistic missiles that have been used to Ukraine, including in attacks on civilians. However, it's far less clear what North Korea has gotten from Russia.