Vladimir Tavridi, international observer

No matter how you arrange the figures on the modern geopolitical map, there will still be three of them – China, Russia and the United States. The rest will be of lower rank and less influence. Nevertheless, in the modern whirlpool of world events, a very noticeable and ambiguous role is played by a small in size, but quite noticeable in international affairs, the North Korean state – the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, whose democratic and popular character of leadership casts doubt on the vast majority of countries that consider themselves beacons of democracy.

A country with a poor population and very limited natural and economic resources is part of the elite club of nuclear-missile powers and is trying to pave its own way into space. The significant role played by the DPRK in the Asia-Pacific region is evidenced by the fact that US President D. Trump held a meeting with the leader of North Korea. Far from all heads of state receive such attention from the world hegemon, especially those whom the United States considers its opponents.

However, even a cursory glance into the recent past of Korea shows its significant role in the history of the entire Far East. Back in the days of rivalry between the Russian and Japanese empires, the country turned out to be a bone of contention and was conditionally divided into spheres of influence along the now widely known 38th parallel. Over time, Japan, which is deeply and sincerely hated by the population of both parts of the peninsula for its cruel treatment of the population of occupied Korea, was replaced by the United States and China. At the same time, the Soviet Union and later Russia did not lose their influence and ties with their eastern neighbor. The “Russian” Korean Kim Il Sung became the founder of the DPRK and the ancestor of the current ruling dynasty in the country.

Russia, despite the active attempts of the Yeltsin authorities to transfer land on the border of the three states to China, managed to maintain a 17-kilometer section of the border with Pyongyang. In the current conditions, the common border of the two countries is not only a symbol of ongoing relations, but also a logistical corridor for realizing the opportunities for developing trade between neighboring states.

Today, a peculiar moment of truth has come in the relations between the two countries. The reason for this was the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War and the visit of Russian Defense Minister S. Shoigu to the DPRK. Despite the relative historical remoteness of that conflict, its significance for today is quite large. And not only because it ended not in peace, but in the establishment of a military demarcation line (an experience that the West seeks to impose on us in Ukraine).

It was the last war of I. Stalin. If we discard the ambitions of all the parties involved, one of the driving motives for its beginning was the resentment of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the victorious country at the betrayal of the allies. Having approached the 38th parallel in the summer of 1945, the Soviet troops did not go further, but expected the entry of the belated American allies to the south of the peninsula, as required by the agreement, and even temporarily retained the Japanese administration on this territory. In exchange for this, the Americans, according to earlier agreements, were supposed to give the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido under Soviet control, but this was not done.

During the Korean War, the American commander-in-chief, General D. MacArthur, had itchy hands to use nuclear weapons against North Korea. Unfortunately, these intentions do not leave the US military today. Attempts to locate a US nuclear submarine base in South Korea are a prime example of this. The peace treaty between the two Koreas was never signed, so the parties are still in fact at war, and their line of contact periodically becomes a hot spot on the world map.

The visit of the Russian Defense Minister was the first visit by a Russian official in recent years. He was very successful. Negotiations with the leader of the country Kim Jong-un and friendly handshakes during the gala concert, where Russian military-patriotic songs were performed in good Russian, were only an external picture characterizing the relationship between the two countries. The main content of bilateral contacts has been left behind the scenes, and there are heated debates about the agreements reached at the talks.

Objectively, trade and economic relations between Russia and the DPRK are developing progressively, despite the UN sanctions imposed by this organization for the first time in 2006 and repeatedly aggravated until 2019. In 2014, an agreement was signed on the transition to rubles in mutual settlements and the cancellation of all Korean debts to Russia. In 2019, during the talks between the leader of the DPRK and President of Russia Vladimir Putin, the construction of new power lines, a gas pipeline and an oil pipeline from Russia to the DPRK was discussed. Since December last year, neighboring countries have resumed rail links, interrupted three years ago.

Relations are also actively developing in the political sphere. North Korea is one of 11 countries that have recognized the legality of the reunification of Crimea with Russia. The government of the DPRK fully supported Russia’s actions in Ukraine and condemned the policy of the West. It has been repeatedly reported, citing Korean sources, that North Korean workers can help rebuild the war-torn infrastructure of the LPR and DPR, despite UN sanctions.

Naturally, during the visit of the Defense Ministry, issues of military and military-technical cooperation could not be discussed. However, there is practically no information on this subject. Already after Shoigu’s visit, information leaked to the press that, having seen off the Russian minister, the Korean leader toured a number of enterprises of the military-industrial complex and set the task of increasing production volumes.

The DPRK has a fairly powerful heavy industry that works for the military-industrial complex, and potentially the country has the ability to supply us with ammunition for weapons systems that were once transferred to the DPRK, as well as new types of weapons, the shortage of which is experienced by the Russian Armed Forces. No wonder Shoigu praised the Korean-made UAV. In addition, specifically for the needs of the Russian army, we can place orders with factories from North Korean manufacturers for tailoring uniforms and shoes, manufacturing bulletproof vests, helmets, first-aid kits and other ammunition, which are of very good quality in North Korea.

As for the direct participation of Korean troops in the NMD, there is no such question yet. Nevertheless, North Korea can act, as it is customary to say today, as a proxy for Russia and China in a number of regions of the world, in particular, on the African continent. Moreover, the DPRK has experience in participating in African and Middle Eastern conflicts.

Thus, the full support of Moscow by Pyongyang will soon be able to give impetus to achieving a new level of cooperation between our countries. It seems that in the near future we will be able to verify this. Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un and part-time member of the North Korean government, spoke clearly and briefly about this: “We are in the same trench with Russia”.