An upcoming visit for Putin to North Korea cause concerns in the United States and South Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin may visit Pyongyang next week for meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korean officials said.

The visit worries the United States and South Korea, raising questions about the history and improvement of relations between North Korea and Russia in recent years.

Officials from South Korea and the United States have warned that Putin’s possible visit to North Korea could strengthen military ties between the two countries, in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun said during an emergency phone call with his US counterpart Kurt Campbell that Putin’s visit shouldn’t lead to increased military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in contravention of Security Council resolutions.

Campbell, whose concerns Kim shares, stressed continued cooperation to address potential security challenges in the region.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the two sides agreed to closely monitor developments and respond firmly through close cooperation to counter any provocations from North Korea or actions that could escalate tensions in the region.

As Russia has become increasingly isolated from the West by its war in Ukraine, North Korea has become increasingly important to Moscow.

Although relations between the two countries have not always been as strong as they were during the Soviet Union, North Korea now finds the obvious benefit of the Russian need to strengthen its international ties.

North Korea was founded with the support of the Soviet Union at the beginning of the Cold War, and received significant assistance from Moscow and China during the 1950-1953 Korean War.

North Korea relied for years on Soviet aid, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the nineties contributed to famine in the North.

In recent years, North Korea has reoriented diplomatic ties to strengthen ties with Russia, especially after Moscow and Beijing became opposed to imposing new sanctions on Pyongyang.

Last March, Russia refused to renew the annual mandate of the Panel of Experts monitoring the implementation of UN sanctions against North Korea, dividing the UN Security Council for the first time since sanctions began imposing sanctions on Pyongyang in 2006.

After North Korea’s nuclear test in 2017, Kim Jong-un sought to improve his relations with Russia and met Putin for the first time in Vladivostok in 2019.

In September last year, Putin welcomed Kim to a space launch facility in Russia and pledged to help North Korea build satellites and other support.

In July 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang and toured an arms exhibition that included banned ballistic missiles.

Since Kim and Putin met last year, there has been a steady flow of delegations between the two countries in various fields.

North Korea expressed support for Russia after its war in Ukraine in February 2022, and was among the few countries to recognize the independence of Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia.

North Korea has been accused of supplying Russia with weapons for use in the Ukraine conflict, which Moscow and Pyongyang have denied despite pledges to deepen military cooperation.

In 2022, Russia and North Korea resumed rail journeys that were interrupted during the Covid pandemic, with the first shipments involving 30 thoroughbred horses.

Russia also resumed oil exports to North Korea for the first time since 2020, a move that signals the possibility of Russia becoming an important economic partner for North Korea alongside China.

Russian officials have publicly discussed political arrangements to hire tens of thousands of North Korean workers, even though this is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

In Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, the possibility of using North Korean workers to help rebuild war-affected areas was discussed.