Increasingly cordial ties between Russia and North Korea should serve to refocus global attention on a peninsula that remains as dangerous as ever, says Gearoid Reidy for Bloomberg Opinion.
File photo of North Korea n leader Kim Jong Un with Russia 's President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Sep 13, 2023. TOKYO: When it comes to North Korea , Western interest tends to wax and wane: From the Barack Obama-era approach of tactical patience to the Donald Trump bombast of summits, fire and fury.
But for a better view of why North Korea shouldn’t be ignored, look at a larger package that will be crossing over the North Korean border.is visiting the country Tuesday and Wednesday, his first such sojourn in 24 years. Following Kim Jong Un’s trip to Russia last September, it comes as ties between the two strongmen are growing increasingly cordial.
Officials in Seoul have fretted about such a pact. Russia needs allies, and Kim has shown his willingness to help, as demonstrated by the North Korean weaponry found on Ukrainian battlefields. The US and South Korea both say Kim has already sent millions of artillery shells to Russia, needed to continue its assault on Ukraine.
Japan, meanwhile, is reported by South Korean media to have held secret talks with representatives of the Kim regime in Mongolia last month. The clock is ticking on any potential resolution of the abductions of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s - as well as possibly Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s leadership, one reason Tokyo may again be floating the idea of a bilateral summit.
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