The defiant Russia-North Korea friendship pact raises big questions for Washington and Seoul – but also for BeijingA quarter of a century ago, Vladimir Putin flew to Pyongyang to sign a “friendship treaty” with Kim Jong-il that helped revive Russia’s relations with North Korea without obliging the two sides to come to each other’s aid in case of a military attack.With his visit last week, Putin has in effect gone further into the past, signing a deal with Kim Jong-un reminiscent of the 1961 security pact that existed under the Soviet Union during the cold war. But today Russia is engaged in a hot war in Ukraine that Putin has made his foreign policy priority, and a nuclear North Korea has become a crucial lifeline of munitions for his military. Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/23/a-return-to-the-cold-war-putin-and-kim-have-joined-forces-as-global-delinquents
Author : Andrew Roth
Publish date : 2024-06-23 14:00:02
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