Hours before his trip to North Korea, Putin praises Pyongyang for 'firmly supporting' Russia's war in Ukraine

A day after his trip was confirmed by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin heaped praises on North Korea for “firmly supporting” Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

In an article published by state-run KCNA, Putin wrote, “We highly appreciate that the DPRK (North Korea) is firmly supporting the special military operations of Russia being conducted in Ukraine.”

The two countries are “now actively developing the many-sided partnership,” Putin wrote, pointing to, for example, the fact that Moscow and Kim Jong Un’s regime have been “maintaining the common line and stand at the UN.”

The Russian president will make his first visit to North Korea after 24 years where he will meet Kim Jong Un. He is set to arrive late on Tuesday.

Talking about his trip, Putin said, “Bilateral cooperation will be put onto a higher level with our joint efforts and this will contribute to developing reciprocal and equal cooperation between Russia and the DPRK.”

Allies, since North Korea was founded after the second world war, Pyongyang and Moscow saw their ties grow stronger since the latter attacked Ukraine in 2022. The trip comes at a time when Putin is increasingly getting isolated from the world and is looking for a friend, experts say.

Last year, Kim went to visit Putin in Russia in his bulletproof train, a rare occurrence as the leader hardly steps out of the country.

Putin-Kim meet: What’s on plate?

With the Ukraine war in its third year, Putin’s official visit to North Korea will see the two sides signing “important documents” which may include a “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” that will outline future co-operation and deal with “security issues”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by state-run Russian news agencies.

While that’s the official line of statement, experts have warned that the trip will focus on strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries.

“Moscow and Pyongyang want to leverage the perception that their ties are long-term and increasingly integrated regarding defense,” Patrick Cronin, chair for Asia-Pacific Security at the Hudson Institute, told the Yonhap news agency.

“They may also suggest this relationship is comprehensive. Certainly, both countries are facing serious economic dilemmas. But regardless of the words used, current relations will focus on defense cooperation.”

‘Will beat sanctions together’ 

Apart from sharing a belligerent mindset, North Korea and Russia have another thing in common: the slew of sanctions imposed by the West and the UN.

Amid this, Putin has vowed that the countries would continue to “resolutely oppose” what he described as Western ambitions to “hinder the establishment of a multipolarized world order based on mutual respect for justice.”

Putin also said Russia and North Korea will develop unspecified trade and payment systems “that are not controlled by the West” and jointly oppose sanctions against the countries, which he described as “unilateral and illegal restrictive measures.”

With inputs from agencies