Russia’s foreign minister made an official visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday, vowing to intensify collective efforts between Russia and North Korea against the United States and its regional allies – a development that could further strain Washington’s global security strategy amidst its engagements in the Ukraine and Israel conflicts.
“In today’s intricate global political climate, dominated by the U.S.-led Western bloc’s pursuit of hegemony, our bond and unity is rooted in the longstanding friendly ties,” said Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as cited by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
The Russian minister added that his visit marked a “pivotal moment” to realize tangible outcomes in fostering the “deep and strategic relations” between the two countries.
North Korea’s foreign minister Choe Son-hui also boasted about the relations, describing it as “evolving and progressing into a visionary partnership.”
“We voiced our optimism that the landmark agreement forged by our leaders during their visit will yield positive results, elevating our extensive and productive bilateral ties,” she said.
The visit came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid a visit to Russia’s far east to meet with his counterpart Vladimir Putin last month. During the summit, they vowed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on all fronts including military cooperation. As the visit concluded, Russia hinted at a possible return visit by Putin to North Korea.
The Russian foreign minister’s visit, thus, is most likely to have put Putin’s reciprocal visit to North Korea on the agenda.
Although KCNA did not provide specifics about the potential visit, the state media signaled that both nations are on a trajectory to deepen their cooperation.
The deepening collaboration between Russia and North Korea may present a complex challenge for the U.S. President Joe Biden’s international security calculus as the U.S. remains intricately involved in delicate situations in both Ukraine and Israel.
Putin and Kim did not publicly comment on any ammunition deal last month, but the Kremlin said that it would cooperate with North Korea in “sensitive areas that can’t be disclosed,” raising suspicions that Pyongyang may provide ammunition to Russia. Putin offered to aid Kim in perfecting his “satellite” technology. Transferring relevant technology may pose a threat to the international community as rocket technologies can be used for both launching satellites and missiles.
For that reason, the U.N. bans North Korea from launching a ballistic rocket, even if it claims to be a satellite launch.
In response, Seoul had slammed both Moscow and Pyongyang, warning the authoritarian leaders of “consequences” over their possible military cooperation and potential ammunition deal.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
