North Korean Delegation's Russia Visit Spurred by Changing Geopolitical Climate - Experts

A delegation from North Korea, headed by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, is paying a visit to Russia from January 15-17. The Kremlin said it expects the negotiations between the foreign ministers of Russia and the DPRK will be deep and informative.

The current visit of the North Korean delegation to Moscow is evidence of the progress in development of Russia’s relations with the DPRK, Artyom Lukin, Professor of the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, told Sputnik.

“More specifically, I would suggest that the visit may be aimed at preparing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang. As you know, he received such an invitation from Kim Jong Un last year,” Lukin said.

The delegatio,n led by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, arrived in Moscow on Sunday night. Over three days of talks, Choe Son Hui is to meet her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

A meeting between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s foreign minister cannot be ruled out, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He added that Russia intends to further develop partnerships with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in all areas, with dialogue set to continue at all levels.

Furthermore, Moscow hopes that Putin will be able to visit to the DPRK in the near future, with dates to be agreed upon through diplomatic channels.

“We see that work is currently underway to resume and intensify economic cooperation, which in recent years was practically frozen - first due to sanctions against the DPRK, which Russia joined, then due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the DPRK closed its borders,” Artyom Lukin noted.

Although this economic cooperation was still at the stage of elaboration and agreements, 2024 could demonstrate “real trade flows between the DPRK and Russia,” said the pundit.

“We already see that our tourists are starting to go to North Korea. Already in early February, the first tour group will be traveling to a North Korean ski resort,” Lukin added.

The current level of relations between Russia and North Korea reflects the overall geopolitical situation in the world, acknowledged the expert. “The DPRK is one of the few countries in the global South that is not afraid of anything; it has nothing to lose,” Lukin stressed.

He underscored that North Korea was prepared to provide Russia with “real support in any way it can.”

“North Korea also has serious motivation for rapprochement with Russia. It lies in the fact that, in my opinion, it also feels increasingly ill at ease in its own region. South Korea continues to build up its military potential, the alliance between Seoul and Washington is strengthening, and a trilateral alliance is being formed between South Korea, Japan and the US,” Lukin pointed out.

The DPRK until recently tried to solve all its problems on its own, including security issues, he recalled.

But “perhaps the North Koreans have realized that in such a complex geopolitical environment, when their opponents are armed to the teeth, forming coalitions, one hundred percent security cannot be ensured on one’s own, and you need to look for a strong partner or maybe even an ally,” Lukin said.

Russia and North Korea are neighbors, and "even without geopolitics we must cooperate with each other," he added.

“First of all, this visit will be devoted to how our countries should behave in the new international reality that is emerging in the world and in the Far East,” agreed Alexander Zhebin, a leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Two key questions are: how to build our cooperation and develop it in the context of ongoing sanctions, and use all the opportunities that exist in this regard. The second issue is to take a closer look at the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and think about how we will respond in practice to beefed up military presence of Washington and its allies near our borders," Zhebin stressed.

The DPRK has denounced the newly-forged trilateral military alliance between the US, Japan, and South Korea as a “cancer tumor" that puts the international UN-based order in jeopardy.

Last year, North Korean Foreign Vice-Minister Im Chon-il warned that US-backed blocs are no longer hiding their “aggressive and chauvinistic nature.”

The minister added that the US is attempting to interfere in the friendly relations between Russia and North Korea. He stressed that American foreign policy reflects a "hegemony-oriented way of thinking based on the Cold War-style confrontation logic."

During a visit to North Korea in October 2023, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia fully supports the aim of North Korean authorities to defend the country’s sovereignty. he added that Moscow values Pyongyang’s support of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

In September 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid a visit to Russia - his first since 2019 - and held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim also met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Kim's visit to Russia brought about "a new radical turn" in the development of Moscow-Pyongyang relations and consolidated "the traditional ties of good neighbor and cooperation" between the two countries, state media reported in the wake of the trip.

Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora underscored last year that cooperation between Russia and North Korea was not "directed against anyone."

"We are not cooperating against anyone with North Korea. We have a positive agenda. Our opponents say that 'you will pay the price' ... We cooperate to solve specific issues, improve the standard of living of our population, strengthen partnership in various fields," Matsegora said in September. The ambassador noted that the main objective is to "maintain peace and stability in the region and on a broader scale."