Democracy gone Astray: North Korea

Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.

This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Showing posts with label North Korea. Show all posts

Thursday, September 05, 2024

Russia’s foreign minister hails ‘new level’ of ties during North Korea trip

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Moscow’s relations with North Korea have reached a “new level”, as concern grows over deepening military ties between the two countries amid the war in Ukraine.

Speaking on Thursday in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, Lavrov hailed last month’s summit in Russia’s far east between Vladimir Putin and the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, as evidence that bilateral ties were at a “qualitatively new, strategic level”.

Moscow has pledged its "complete support" for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Mr Lavrov, who is on an official trip to North Korea, also thanked the country for its support in Ukraine.

His ongoing trip sets the stage for a possible visit to the country by President Vladimir Putin.

Last week, the US said North Korea had begun sending large shipments of arms to Russia for use in Ukraine.

North Korea sending Russia military equipment, US claims

US officials have accused North Korea of supplying vast amounts of military hardware to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Pyongyang has supplied up to 1,000 containers of "equipment and munitions" in "recent weeks", National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said.

Officials also released photos of what they said were 300 containers assembled for transport in Najin, North Korea.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un receives drones as gifts as Russia trip ends

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has received five explosive drones, a reconnaissance drone and a bulletproof vest as gifts from a regional governor on his visit to Russia.

On Saturday he met the Russian defence minister in Vladivostok, where he inspected state-of-the-art weapons, including a hypersonic missile system.

TASS said the “leader of the DPRK received five kamikaze drones and a ‘Geran-25’ reconnaissance drone with vertical takeoff”, using the official name of North Korea.

Alexander Lukashenko has expressed interest in creating a trilateral partnership with Russia and North Korea amid rumours that Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un were negotiating an arms deal to sustain Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Belarusian leader made the remarks during a summit with Putin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, where the two held their seventh face-to-face meeting this year.

Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Kim Jong-un has been dismissed by the US as an act of desperation by the Russian leader. Although few details have emerged about the leaders’ discussions, the summit in the Russian Far East could preface new and worrying developments in the war in Ukraine and for Kim’s military ambitions. As the North Korean leader continues his tour of military facilities in Russia, here are five takeaways from the summit.

Putin and Kim Jong-un exchange rifles as North Korean leader continues Russia tour

Kim Jong-un has visited a factory that builds advanced fighter jets, as his tour of Russia moves into its third day and the Kremlin revealed he and Vladimir Putin had exchanged gifts of rifles during their summit this week.

Two days after meeting Putin at a space base in Russia’s far east, where they discussed satellite technology and – possibly – a deal to provide North Korean arms for the war in Ukraine, Kim’s armoured train arrived in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he visited a factory that makes Russia’s most modern fighter jets, Russian news agencies reported.

The situation is dire when you’re boasting of closer ties with North Korea, but Vladimir Putin in 2023 finds himself in just that situation with nothing left to lose.

The Russian fanfare before the summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un has rivalled the anticipation for his meetings with western leaders, where he would attempt to woo or spar with opponents such as Barack Obama or Angela Merkel.

Kim Jong-un has arrived in Russia on his armoured train for a rare summit with Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible deal to supply North Korean arms for the war in Ukraine.

The train arrived at Khasan station, the main rail gateway to Russia’s far east from North Korea, where Kim was filmed alighting and meeting the Russian environment minister, before continuing to travel north.

Kim Jong Un’s ‘Moving Fortress’ North Korea train: What to know

A luxurious yet battle-ready massive green train has rolled across North Korea’s border into Russia carrying leader Kim Jong Un to a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

Since taking power in 2011, Kim has made seven international trips and crossed the border into South Korea twice, using a train emblazoned with a yellow strip for the majority of his overseas travel.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first-ever summit in 2019.

Kim travelled to Vladivostok in his armoured train where the men spent two days enjoying folk dances, feasting on borscht and reindeer dumplings, and toasting the burgeoning relationship between their two countries.

At that time, broadly supportive of the United Nations sanctions imposed on Pyongyang over its weapons programme, Putin promised to do what he could with China and the United States to break the impasse in denuclearisation talks.

Kim Jong Un will visit Russia “in the coming days,” the Kremlin announced Monday following speculation about an upcoming visit by the North Korean leader.

Kim’s visit will take place “at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin,” the statement said.

After a year and a half of fighting in Ukraine, Russia needs to replenish its supplies of ammunition for what could be a long war of attrition. Along with ramping up its domestic arms production, Moscow is turning to an old ally with a vast arsenal — North Korea.

Estimates say the reclusive and isolated Asian country has tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets that could give a huge boost to the Russian army.

U.S. officials expect North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Russia in the coming days to seal a possible deal on munitions transfer with President Vladimir Putin. That would be a remarkable reversal from the 1950-53 Korean War, when the Soviet Union provided the communist North with weapons and ammunition.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling for Russia and North Korea to intensify their ties amid rumors that he could meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the coming days.

“I am convinced that thanks to our joint efforts we will continue to strengthen … bilateral ties on all fronts,” Putin said in a letter addressed to Kim on Friday, quoted by AFP and North-Korean media.

Vladimir Putin must be feeling fairly desperate if he’s relying on Kim Jong-un for friendship and support. There’s a reason why North Korea’s unpredictable dictator is among the world’s most ostracised leaders.

Nobody likes him and he don’t care, as the saying goes. Yet Russia’s despised, isolated war-criminal president is in much the same leaky boat these days, slowly sinking, calling out for help.

North Korea’s Kim marks founding day with parade, promises to China, Russia

Kim Jong Un has marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of North Korea with a parade of paramilitary forces and promises to deepen ties with China and Russia.

The North Korean leader attended the midnight parade on Friday in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square which was also attended by a visiting Chinese delegation and Russian diplomats, the country’s state Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday.

Vice President Kamala Harris said it would be a “huge mistake” for Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim John Un to meet following a warning by U.S. officials that arms negotiations between the countries are “actively advancing.”

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the two leaders are planning to meet this month in Russia, likely in Vladivostok. Putin is seeking more weapons for his country’s war in Ukraine, and Kim is looking for “advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines” and food, according to the Times.

North Korea will ‘pay a price’ if it supplies arms to Russia, says US

The US warned Kim Jong-un that North Korea would “pay a price” for supplying Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine, saying that arms negotiations between the two states were actively advancing.

Providing weapons to Russia “is not going to reflect well on North Korea and they will pay a price for this in the international community,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House.

The Kremlin said earlier on Tuesday it had “nothing to say” about statements by US officials that Kim planned to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss weapons supplies to Moscow.

After years of backing UN sanctions targeting North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, Russia is now reaching out to its neighbour for help. The war in Ukraine has forced the Kremlin to reassess its relationship with Pyongyang as it seeks to secure weapons to replace its own depleted stocks.

A possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un later this month in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok would add geopolitical substance to the symbolic meeting of minds that has unfolded between the leaders of the pariah states over 18 months of fighting in Ukraine.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's reported plans to visit Russia this month have caused concern among the US and its allies.

He and President Vladimir Putin intend to discuss the possibility of North Korea providing Moscow with weapons to support its war in Ukraine, US officials say.

On the surface, an arms deal between North Korea and Russia makes perfect transactional sense.

Democracy gone Astray