"Putin: If North Korea Visits Back, Influence in Northeast Asia Will Change"

Chairman Kim Jong-un Accepts Invitation to Visit North Korea
If He Makes a Return Visit, Influence on Northeast Asian Situation Will Increase

Analysis suggests that if Russian President Vladimir Putin visits North Korea, it would signify Russia's 'declaration of return' to Northeast Asian international politics.

Russian and North Korean media reported that President Putin accepted Chairman Kim Jong-un's invitation to visit North Korea during the Russia-North Korea summit held last month on the 13th at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Amur Oblast.

Assistant Professor Lee Tae-rim of the North America and Europe Research Department and Research Professor Lee Sang-sook of the Diplomatic History Research Center at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy stated in their recently published report, "Evaluation of the 2023 Russia-North Korea Summit and Prospects for Regional Developments," that “if Putin's visit to North Korea takes place, it will be an event that significantly impacts not only Russia-North Korea bilateral relations but also the overall order in Northeast Asia.”

If President Putin's visit to North Korea is realized, it will be his second visit since July 2000 during Kim Jong-il's leadership.

The researchers at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy viewed this summit as Russia signaling that it could secure additional weapon supply lines to be deployed on the Ukrainian battlefield and warning that through close ties with North Korea, Russia might attempt to change the current security order in Northeast Asia, thereby pressuring the United States to halt its military support for Ukraine.

They added, “If Russia, isolated from Western societies, tries to regain influence over North Korea and North Korea actively responds, Russia's influence in Northeast Asia could change, requiring new strategic responses from the United States and South Korea.”

The researchers also suggested that Russia may be seeking to gain a new lever against China by enhancing its influence over North Korea. They noted, “The shift of North Korea’s top foreign relations priority to Russia is not a welcome development for China either,” and predicted that China will attempt to manage the Korean Peninsula situation by expanding economic cooperation with North Korea to some extent while securing its influence over North Korea for the stability of the Korean Peninsula.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.