What North Korea Thinks About the Russia-Ukraine War
Carlotta Young-Mi Bischke and Sangsoo Lee 李相洙
Introduction:
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised many new security concerns not only for Europe, but also for the rest of the world. In Northeast Asia, Russia’s proximity and strategic impact have all of the regional actors keeping a close eye on Moscow’s political decisions. Under this new geopolitical situation, North Korea seems to be recalibrating its foreign policy agenda to situate itself among the global powers of Russia, China and the US.
Since the beginning of the war, North Korea has been one of only five countries to support Putin by opposing a United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution condemning Russia’s invasion, while it blamed the US for being the “root cause of the Ukraine crisis.” In exchange for its political support, North Korea is most likely interested in receiving economic aid from Russia as well as military weapons technologies. Russia may also be more inclined to make use of its veto power at the UN Security Council (UNSC) to support North Korea’s conduct of further intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or potential nuclear tests.
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