Putin must not send the wrong signal to North Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely visit North Korea soon. The trip has become a fait accompli after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s top aide currently accompanying Yoon’s visit to Central Asia mentioned the possibility of Putin “visiting Pyongyang in a few days.” Russian media also reported that Putin will soon embark on his trips to North Korea and Vietnam. North Korea has recently mobilized its people to prepare a large-scale greeting ceremony in Pyongyang.

Putin’s imminent trip to the North represents a return visit for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia last September. But diplomatic experts attach strategic significance to Putin’s trip, as it will mark a Russian president’s first visit to the North since July 2000.

Putin’s visit raises serious security concerns for South Korea after North Korea raised the level of tension in the Korean Peninsula through its repeated missile launches and dispatch of dirty balloons to the South. Putin wants to import more conventional weapons from North Korea to be used in the Ukraine war while North Korea wants to draw Russia to its battle against international sanctions. North Korea also needs Russia’s ICBM technology for atmospheric re-entry and its technology for military reconnaissance satellites.

The two countries’ perfectly matching strategic interests means an escalated security risk for South Korea. Russia was criticized for brushing off the North’s repeated ballistic missile launches after its invasion of Ukraine, despite its responsibility as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. In March, Russia vetoed the extension of the term for a specialist panel on UN sanctions on the North.

Putin must not send the wrong signal to the North when he visits Pyongyang. He should not revive the North Korea-Russia Alliance Treaty that was scrapped by Moscow in 1996. We hope Russia shows its clear position against any North Korean provocations threatening the security of the peninsula. Putin has expressed his “hope for improved Russia-South Korea relations.”

South Korea must devise effective countermeasures while closely monitoring the alarming developments between Russia and North Korea. The government must send Moscow a clear message against a dangerous military deal with Pyongyang. South Korea needs to take advantage of a North Korea that has been walking a tightrope between Russia and China. It must take advantage of the schisms between China and North Korea after Pyongyang got closer to Moscow. Next week’s meeting between foreign and defense ministers of South Korea and China can provide the venue for such effort.