Tipsheet

Why Is Putin Visiting North Korea?

Jamie Parsons
Jamie Parsons  |  June 18, 2024 3:00 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit North Korea on June 18-19 to discuss a “burgeoning partnership.”

Since December 2023, it is evident North Korea has been providing Russia with weapons. As the war in Ukraine lengthens, Russia and North Korea have been “deepening an alliance,” with Putin set to visit North Korea this week for the first time in 24 years, according to The Hill. 

“This is a significant and concerning escalation in the DPRK’s [North Korea] support for Russia,” John Kirby, a White House spokesperson for national security issues, said after Russia fired ballistic missiles into Ukraine that were provided by North Korea.

Kim Jong Un invited Putin to North Korea after his visit to Russia in September 2023, The Hill reported. The last time Putin visited North Korea was on July 19, 2000, when the country was under the control of Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong II.

In the wake of Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in 2000, the two leaders exchanged “confidential” letters, according to The Washington Post. In the letters, North Korea offered to “drop” its intercontinental ballistic missile program if other countries–those who had criticized its missile program–agreed to invest in launching two or three satellites a year for Pyongyang. 

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North Korea constructed a similar arrangement in 1994 when it agreed to shut down a graphite-moderated nuclear reactor thought to be capable of building nuclear weapons in exchange for two proliferation-resistant nuclear power reactors, according to Arms Control Association. 

Given North Korea’s track record, the U.S. suspects Putin and Kim are dealing in another trade. The U.S. believes Russia is providing North Korea “critical technology” that can help improve Pyongyang’s missile and space satellite development in exchange for “artillery shells,” The Hill reported. 

As North Korea continues to provide Russia with weapons, the U.S. warns about a “burgeoning partnership” between the two countries, The Hill reported.

“Due in part to our sanctions and export controls, Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage, and they’ve been forced to look to like-minded states for military equipment,” Kirby said. “As we’ve been warning publicly, one of those states is North Korea.”

The publication added that it is not certain what will be discussed in North Korea this week. The visit has not been labeled as a formality, and it is not clear if Putin and Kim will discuss trade agreements. It is suspected the two countries will discuss North Korea's "support for the war in Ukraine," but it is not clear what that might entail.