20 September 2023
By Jiwoo Park
After a week-long visit to Russia that included discussions with President Vladimir Putin on increased military and other cooperation, it was reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had left back home by train on Sunday.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's official news agency, KCNA, said the trip by the North Korean leader represents "the beginning of a new heyday of friendship, solidarity, and cooperation in the history of the development of the relations between the DPRK and Russia."
Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, stated that despite the sanctions placed on Pyongyang by the United Nations Security Council, Moscow sought to establish "equal and fair cooperation" with North Korea.
As Russia accelerates its invasion of Ukraine, and North Korea continues with its missile and nuclear development, the United States and its allies are concerned about the strengthening of military connections between the two neighbors.
Military collaboration between North Korea and Russia, according to South Korea and the United States, would violate U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang, and the allies would make sure there was a price to pay.