North Korea celebrates its founding day on September 9 every year, and this year marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the occasion. North Korea, known internationally as the “nuclear state” has indicated that it will organize a military parade on this occasion, with a Chinese-Russian official confirmation of the attendance of the Korean military parade of the North Korea celebrates the anniversary of its founding. China and Russia are among North Korea’s most important allies and its most prominent international supporters, and their relationship strengthened during the Korean War in the 1950s. Here came the North Korean Central News Agency’s confirmation and announcement that two delegations from Russia and the Communist Party and the government in China, headed by Deputy Prime Minister “Liu Guozhong”, will visit North Korea to participate in the celebration of the country’s founding day. With the North Korean assertion that the visit came “at the invitation” of the party and government in North Korea.
Here, a link can be made between the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of Vladivostok, immediately after the North Korean celebration of the founding anniversary. While the Russian and North Korean leaders, who are attending the annual Eastern Economic Forum, denied US allegations that they were negotiating arms deals. The upcoming meeting in the city of Vladivostok in the Far East of Russia will focus on an arms deal, as Putin is believed to be seeking to obtain weapons from North Korea for the war he is waging in Ukraine. Especially since senior North Korean military officials, including officials in charge of weapons production and space technology, accompany Kim Jong Un during his visit to Russia to meet Putin. North Korea and its leader Kim are among the staunchest supporters of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Western countries, led by the United States, fear that Pyongyang may resort to supplying Russia with missiles and missiles. Knowing that Russian President Putin praised Pyongyang’s firm support for special military operations against Ukraine. Kim Jong Un crowned the strengthening of cooperation with Russia with an agreement signed in 2019 when he met with President Putin.
During the North Korean leader’s visit, Moscow will seek to obtain artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from Pyongyang, which in turn will search for advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines. It is also expected that from the Putin-Kim talks, Pyongyang will discuss sending humanitarian aid to Moscow with Moscow. We find that even if an arms deal is reached at the Putin-Kim summit, it is unlikely that any party will announce the full details given the Western powers’ rejection of it and the international legal problems it entails.
Taking into account North Korea’s recognition in July 2023 of two Russian-backed breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine as independent states, officials in Pyongyang raised the possibility of sending North Korean workers to Ukrainian areas under Russian control, to help with construction and other labor work. Here, Ukraine, which has been working to repel Russia’s attack since last February 2023, immediately severed relations with Pyongyang because of that step.
This summit is also an opportunity for Pyongyang to show that its economic future does not depend solely on the United States of America, especially after Washington refused to lift economic sanctions on it. Kim may also try to pressure Moscow to ease economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang. This summit is also an opportunity for Russia to show that it is an important player on the Korean Peninsula. Especially since after Russia’s economic recovery under President Putin, he canceled most of North Korea’s debts during the Soviet era as a gesture of good faith. North Korea also considers Russia one of the least hostile foreign powers.
Putin’s meeting with Kim Jong Un confirms President Putin’s call to establish a multipolar world, and his assertion that this will be a solution to most of the existing international problems. Especially with President Putin’s fear of the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries in confronting him, and their attempt to enhance their capabilities and use all means in an effort to pressure Russia.
The most prominent Western and American fears regarding Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia come from the fear that Moscow is holding secret talks with Pyongyang to obtain quantities of ammunition and supplies needed for its war in Ukraine. There are also American accusations against North Korea that, despite its denials, it has supplied Russia since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war with missiles used by the Russian private military group Wagner in Ukraine. The visit of Russian Defense Minister “Sergei Shoigu” to North Korea originally occurred last August 2023, seeking to obtain additional ammunition for the war Moscow is waging in Ukraine. Therefore, the Western warnings, in their entirety, urged North Korea to stop arms negotiations with Russia and adhere to the public pledges made by Pyongyang not to supply or sell weapons to Russia, while at the same time publicly warning North Korea that the arms negotiations between Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are progressing significantly.
Here are Western fears, especially from the countries of the North Atlantic Military Alliance (NATO), that such actions by Russia and North Korea will make it difficult for international institutions to encourage re-commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, from which North Korea withdrew in 2003. But Russia and North Korea denied the allegations of the United States of America and the West about any alleged arms trade internationally.
Therefore, the joint American-British-South Korean-Japanese declaration came at the beginning of this September 2023, through the United Nations platform, by issuing a joint statement stating that any agreement to increase bilateral cooperation between Russia and North Korea will be considered a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions that prohibit concluding arms deals with Pyongyang. These decisions were supported by Moscow itself. Also, those same four countries of (the United States of America – Britain – South Korea – Japan) criticized the visit of Russian Defense Minister “Shoigu” to Pyongyang last August 2023, especially after another group of Russian officials traveled to North Korea to follow up on talks on purchasing Weapons from Pyongyang, which raised fears in the West, Washington and its allies about this step of international escalation and issuing an urgent international and UN statement denouncing this step by Pyongyang if the arms deal with Moscow is completed in its war against Ukraine.
Source : Modern Diplomacy
