The worrying reasons for Putin’s visit to North Korea: he had not done so for 24 years

LInternational and diplomatic relations are fundamental in the structure and way of being of any country. Deciding which countries you decide to relate to and create agreements with speaks volumes about what kind of country you are. There are nations that, no matter how much they know that they are allies, the image of seeing both leaders together always impacts. This will happen this Tuesday, June 18, with Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea, where he will be received by Kim Jong Un.

The visit of the Russian president to the closed Korean country will be historic, I haven’t done it in 24 years. And of course, obviouslywhen these two nations decide to make an unusual official visit, the West enters a state of concern and speculation begins that he could be behind this meeting.

It is true that in recent times relations between both States have intensified. Without going any further, last September 2023, the Korean leader went to Russia to sign a military cooperation agreement, Therefore, according to some missiles found in areas where the Russian army attacked, they are of Korean origin. Furthermore, he confirmed it South Korea, which identified 18 direct exchanges between both countries.

A commercial payments system and an arms agreement

This new trip by Putin to the Asian country is due to, as the Russian president himself said in a North Korean newspaper, “establish a system of trade and reciprocal payments that is not controlled by the West.” In addition, it is expected to sign a new basic treaty of bilateral relations and thus leave behind those signed in 1961, 2000 and 2021, and strengthen these relationships.

Arms cooperation between both countries seems to be another of the topics that will be on the table at the meeting. It should be remembered that it is not known what Kim Jong Un can offer Putin, since North Korea is an impoverished country, but Russia can offer dangerous information to the Asian country, as Robert Gallucci advanced at the Peace Forum, who said the following: “What worries me? I worry first of all about nuclear weapons. The Russians could give them information about the relationship between certain designs and certain explosive yields.”