North Korea–Russia relations

North Korea–Soviet Union relations

North Korea	Soviet Union

Welcome ceremony for the Red Army in Pyongyang, 1945

The Soviet Union had provided much support to North Korea during the Cold War.

Soviet troops invaded the Japanese colony of Korea in 1945; by agreement with the U.S., the 38th parallel was the dividing line with Moscow in charge to the north and Washington to the South.

North Korea came under the control of the Soviet Civil Administration and People's Committee of North Korea from 1945 to 1948.

The Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps took part in the Korean War where they provided North Korea and China with badly needed pilots.[9]

Moscow under Mikhail Gorbachev began to reduce aid to the North after 1985 in favor of reconciliation with South Korea. Military equipment continued to be provided until a last batch of MiG-29s was delivered in 1989. Kim Il Sung visited the USSR five times, with the last time being in 1986 during the early Gorbachev era. He also met with Soviet officials abroad, including with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev during the funeral of Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito in May 1980.

Embassy of North Korea in Moscow

After the dissolution of the USSR, the new Russian government under Boris Yeltsin refused to provide support for North Korea, favoring South Korea instead.

The first meeting of the Inter-governmental Commission for Trade, Economic, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation between Russia and DPRK was held in the spring of 1996 led by Deputy Premier Vitali Ignatenko. This was the highest- level meeting (at the deputy prime ministerial level) between Moscow and Pyongyang since the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the visit, the two countries agreed to restore bilateral trade and economic cooperation to its 1991 level. The two sides also agreed to restore bilateral inter-governmental commissions and to establish working-level bodies between North Korea and the Russian Far Eastern province for bilateral cooperation in science-technology, forestry, light industry, and transport. Ignatenko carried Yeltsin's personal message to Kim Jong Il. In the message, Yeltsin expressed his hopes for tension reduction on the Korean peninsula and North Korea's continuing observance of the Armistice Agreement. Kim Jong Il, expecting that Gennady Zyuganov, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, would win the coming presidential election in June–July 1996, did not even send a letter of reply, nor did he meet with the Russian delegation.[10]

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang, July 2000

Vladimir Putin's elevation to prime minister in August 1999 and then president in March had critical significance for Pyongyang, which attributed its previous grievances to Yeltsin's government. Kim Jong Il's references to Putin were to the effect that at last Russia had a leader "with whom to do business." However, intensive diplomatic work had to precede a historical breakthrough in Russia–DPRK relations. These efforts began to bear fruit in late 1998, and by March 1999, it became possible to agree completely on the text and the initial Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborly Relations and Cooperation. It was signed in February 2000, after Yeltsin left the political arena.

Starting in April 2000, covert preparations for a visit by President Putin to Pyongyang began. The first summit meeting in the history of Russian-Korean relations took place in July 2000 when a Joint Declaration was signed, the first international document signed by Kim Jong Il as General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Embassy of Russia in Pyongyang

In 2006 Russia supported United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695 in July, condemning the 2006 North Korean missile test.

In April 2009, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited North Korea and signed a plan with Mun Jae-chol, acting chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries on 2009–2010 of cultural and scientific exchange.

After the North Korean nuclear test on 25 May 2009, North Korea's relations with China and Russia changed. Russia, fearing that North Korea's success could lead to a nuclear war, joined China, France, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom and the United States in starting a resolution that could include new sanctions.[11] The Russian news agencies were outraged when North Korea threatened to attack neighboring South Korea after it joined a U.S. led plan to check vessels suspected of carrying equipment for weapons of mass destruction. Another concern was that the nuclear test can be a threat to the security of Russia's far east regions which border North Korea. South Korean president Lee Myung-bak had a phone conversation with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, where Medvedev told him that Russia would work with Seoul on a new U.N. Security Council resolution and to revive international talks on the North Korean nuclear issue.

On 15 June 2009, China and Russia supported the UN sanctions on North Korea. However, the two countries stressed that they did not support the use of force. Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin insisted that any sanctions should be lifted once North Korea cooperates. Also, On 30 March 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree implementing intensified United Nations Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang's nuclear programs. The presidential decree banned the purchase of weapons and relevant materials from the DPRK by government offices, enterprises, banks, organizations and individuals currently under Russia's jurisdiction. It also prohibited the transit of weapons and relevant materials via Russian territory or their export to the DPRK. Any financial aid and educational training that might facilitate North Korea's nuclear program and proliferation activities were also forbidden.[12]

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Sosnovy Bor, August 2011

In December 2010 the North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart, Lavrov, in what was seen as North Korea trying to control criticism about its attack on South Korea's Yeonpyeong island. Lavrov told the North Korean official that Pyongyang's November 23 artillery strike on Yeonpyeong island "resulted in loss of life" and "deserves condemnation".

On October 18, 2011, Russian and North Korean officials marked the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in an event at the North Korean embassy in Moscow. The evening's event was attended by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin.[13]

A delegation of Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) visited Pyongyang from December 12 to 14, 2011. On December 13 (Tuesday) Rosaviatsia director Neradiko Alexandr and Kang Ki-sop, director of General Bureau of Civil Aviation signed an agreement on civilian search and rescue between Russia and the North Korea.[14]

Following the North Korean announcement that it agreed to introduce a moratorium on nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and uranium enrichment, Russia's foreign ministry said, "We welcome North Korea's decision to impose a moratorium on testing nuclear weapons and launching long-range ballistic missiles, and enriching uranium".[15]

After Putin won the 2012 Russian presidential election, Kim Jong Un congratulated him, writing in a letter "I wish you achievement in your responsible work for building a powerful Russia", expressing belief that the traditional bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation would grow stronger.[16]

In May 2012 Russia appointed Alexandr Timonin as the new ambassador to North Korea. The latter presented his credentials to Kim Yong-nam at the Mansudae Assembly Hall.[17] On June 27, 2012, during the visit of the Deputy Foreign Minister of the DPRK Kung Seok-ung to Moscow, Foreign Ministries of both countries have signed an inter-ministerial plan of exchanges on 2013–2014. On June 5, 2012, the two sides concluded a Boundary Treaty between the two states.

In September 2012 Russia agreed to write off 90% of North Korea's $11 billion historic debt to Russia as a sign of closer engagement with North Korea's new leader.[18] The $1 billion North Korea has to repay will be used to finance Russian investment in humanitarian and energy projects in North Korea.[19] This agreement removed legal blocks hindering the financing of trade between the two countries.[19] In 2013, Russia supported both resolutions of the UN Security Council against North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests.[11]

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un Meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok (April 25, 2019).

In February 2014, during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, a delegation headed by Kim Yong-nam travelled to represent North Korea, even though the latter did not participate in these Olympics. Kim had a meeting with President Putin, and also met a number of Russian parliamentarians and state officials in Moscow en route to the Games in Sochi. These included Valentina Matvienko and Ilyas Umakhanov of the Russian Federation Council, Mikhail Margelov, the chair of the International Affairs Committee of the same body, and Vice Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov. Korean Central Television (KCTV) also introduced the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics on the day it took place, the 8th, focusing on the presence of Kim Yong-nam.[20]

In October 2014, the new North Korean Foreign Minister, Ri Su-yong, made a ten-day visit to Russia.[19]

In November 2014 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's special envoy, Choe Ryong-hae, made a seven-day visit to Russia. During his trip, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, delivering a letter to him from Kim Jong Un, and with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

North Korean cargo jet at Vladivostok International Airport in October 2018[21]

In April 2019, Kim travelled by armored train to Vladivostok to meet Putin.[22]

In February 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. On 2 March, North Korea was one of the five countries to vote against a United Nations resolution condemning the invasion.[23]

Following the footsteps of Russia, North Korea became the third country (the second being Syria) to recognise the independence of the breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in Eastern Ukraine. In response to the recognition, Ukraine terminated diplomatic ties with North Korea.[4][5] In August, the New York Post reported that North Korea had offered 100,000 troops to help Donbas,[6] but the Russian foreign ministry said this speculation was "completely fake".[24]

In September, the New York Times reported that Russia had purchased millions of shells and rockets from North Korea to support its invasion, citing U.S. intelligence officials,[7] but Russia and North Korea both deny this.[24]

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said they were "working on political arrangements" to employ North Korean workers in Russia, possibly 20,000 to 50,000 to develop the infrastructure in the Russian Far East.[24]

Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu with Kim Jong-un during the ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, in Pyongyang (2023)

More recently, North Korea appears to desire a hegemonic conflict between the US and Russia. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is sparking outrage from Western nations, which has caused varying multilateral alliances to be created on both sides of the spectrum. This is an opportunistic chance for North Korea to receive the military and financial support they received during the Soviet Union's existence. For example, the Soviet Union was directly involved in providing economic assistance to Kim Il Sung's undeveloped state, refining their ability to wage war with South Korea.[25] Thus, North Korea's strategic value to China and Russia could be strengthened during these hostilities. It is also believed that Kim's regime senses a worsening relationship between Washington and Beijing as a window to test his weaponry as attention is turned elsewhere. According to Lee Seong-Hyon, a North-Korean expert at the Bush Foundation, the DPRK has “ [been] shooting whatever it wanted to shoot; it has been testing whatever it wanted to test.” In contrast, South Korea and the United States have been limited in how they can respond.[26] Additionally, there has been growing evidence that North Korea has been providing weaponry to Russia amid the Ukraine War. Attempting to keep it under cover, sources have stated that the DPRK has directed weaponry to Russia through North Africa and the Middle East.[27] Ned Price, the state Department spokesperson, would respond by imposing “every tool” through actions such as sanctions to punish North Korea.[27] This comes at a time when China and Russia have previously vetoed proposed sanctions toward North Korea following their use of missile tests.[28] Price has also encouraged other countries that have a diplomatic relationship with North Korea not to provide weaponry to Russia.[28] Even if there is no direct evidence of Kim Jong Un supplying Putin's military with missiles, there is a similar ideology present in both countries. During the Ukraine war, Putin has shown the adoption of the North Korean foreign policy initiative of “Brinkmanship” with near-constant threats of nuclear conflict.[29] The reliability of these threats is still debated, although it has made Western nations more hesitant about their involvement in the conflict.

Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin meeting at Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast, Russia, 13 September 2023

In September 2023, Kim Jong Un visited Russia in his first foreign trip since 2019 (also to Russia). The meeting lasted over four hours at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Oblast, and was described as underpinning how the two countries' interests are aligning. Putin is widely suspected to be seeking North Korea's large stockpiles of aging ammunition and rockets from the Soviet era. During the meeting, Kim once again gave his support for Russia’s “sacred fight” against the west, expressing his “...support for all the measures taken by the Russian government, and [he] takes this opportunity again to affirm that [he] will always be with Russia." When asked if Russia would help North Korea build satellites, presumably in return for ammunition, Putin said “that’s why [they] came here."[30][31]

On 18 September 2012, North Korea and Russia signed a deal on debt owed by Pyongyang to Moscow. It is estimated that North Korea owed about $11 billion. North Korea's debt was established during the existence of the Soviet Union when the Soviets made loans to North Korea. The negotiations concerning debt reduction were held earlier in 2012, while the deal was signed in Moscow.[41]

In 2011, it was reported that Russia would write off 90% of the North Korean debt and in return Russia would be allowed to invest in North Korean projects in the energy, health and education sectors, as reported in 2012. One of the major projects planned by Russia was to build a gas pipeline to energy-hungry South Korea through North Korea. The multi-billion-dollar project is, however, unlikely to be realized as North and South Korea are still de jure at war.[41]

On 5 May 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified an agreement to write off 90% of North Korea's debts after the State Duma passed the law on 18 April 2014 and the Federation Council approved it on 29 April 2014.[42][43]