Vladimir Putin in North Korea, a dangerous blaster

Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea is worrying. The Russian president continued his work of undermining the post-Cold War international order. By supporting the dictator Kim Jong-un, he is breaking the sanitary cordon that the UN had established around this regime. The communist dynasty of Pyongyang is targeted by severe sanctions because of its military nuclear program developed out of control and its threatening ballistic activities. Russia and China, although allies of North Korea, had agreed on several occasions with the United States at the United Nations Security Council to try to contain this proliferation. But Vladimir Putin breaks the consensus, affirming that UN sanctions must be “reexamined”. Already in March, Russia had put an end, at the UN, to the monitoring system for violations of international sanctions targeting North Korea.

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, “strategic partners” against the West

This strengthening of the alliance with Pyongyang worries neighboring countries. But it also has a global scope, following on from the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which violated the principles of respect for territorial integrity and state sovereignty. The context of this war, which greatly destabilized the Russian economy, explains the current shift. Moscow needs the gigantic arms stocks built up by the paranoid dynasty of North Korea. As well as drones delivered by Iran, another country targeted by sanctions because of its nuclear program. Locked in his hawkish logic, Vladimir Putin wraps himself in an anti-imperialist discourse. In fact, he consciously weakens the foundations which guaranteed a certain stability in the world.