With US President Donald Trump’s administration pushing to quickly end the war in Ukraine, negotiations will remain a top priority for Washington. After talks between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended disastrously, and the US paused military aid to the country and suspended intelligence sharing, there is no end of speculation about where the next moves will follow.
This is, of course, a live and fast-moving situation, but given North Korea’s direct participation in the Ukraine war in support of Moscow, any developments will have consequences for Pyongyang. While global media has mainly focused on the deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea over the past two years, the two countries have done much more than talk weapons and troop deployments.
Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have been deepening wide-ranging cooperation ever since Kim’s visit to Russia in September 2023.
In fact, Moscow and Pyongyang have expanded cooperation and exchanges in a wide range of areas, pointing to a stronger possibility of the alliance not just surviving but thriving after the conflict in Ukraine comes to an end.
Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have been deepening wide-ranging cooperation ever since Kim’s visit to Russia in September 2023. Two months later, both sides discussed joint exploration of precious and rare earth metals and boosting food trade. At the time, they reportedly “resolved” issues such as “joint geological exploration of deposits of gold, iron and rare earth metals” and agreed on “joint offshore exploration of hydrocarbons”.
Exchanges then took off in earnest in 2024, with Russia dispatching a cultural delegation in March, including a ballet troupe from the Vladivostok branch of the Mariinsky Theatre, sports delegates, and representatives of the tourism industry. Cooperation in the area of public health also made progress, with North Korean Health Minister Jong Mu-rim heading a delegation to Moscow in April, where the two sides signed an intergovernmental agreement of cooperation in “health care, medical education and science”.
That same month, North Korean agricultural officials visited Russia and discussed quotas for North Korean fishermen in the Russian exclusive economic zone and the possibility of training North Korean farmers in Russia.
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Talks between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House ended disastrously on Friday, 28 February 2025 (White House/Flickr)
Talks between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House ended disastrously on Friday, 28 February 2025 (White House/Flickr)
Besides these “softer” areas of cooperation, Pyongyang and Moscow have also doubled down on deepening ties in more substantial areas. For instance, last May, North Korea sent a science delegation to Moscow to hold talks with Russian experts in the fields of science and technology, raising concerns about what the Russians could be providing Pyongyang, since cooperation with North Korea in this field is banned under UN Security Council Resolution 2321, unless it’s for medical purposes. The two sides then went further in October, jointly hosting a large information technology expo in Pyongyang, showcasing a new level of cooperation in tech between the two countries.
Cooperation in this field has continued this year, with North Korea sending university delegations to Russia in February focused on student exchanges and engineering technology, including in nuclear science. Multiple deals were reportedly signed during the trip, which will likely result in an increase of North Korean youth being sent to Russia to learn technological skills valued by the regime in Pyongyang.
People-to-people exchanges have also increased drastically over the past year, with more than 13,000 North Koreans entering Russia last year.
In addition to science and technology, the two states have also deepened cooperation in law enforcement, cyberspace, and intelligence sharing. People-to-people exchanges have also increased drastically over the past year, with more than 13,000 North Koreans entering Russia last year – a 12-fold jump from 2023. While most entered the country under a student visa, their intended purpose is difficult to ascertain, since many have gone to train and fight alongside the Russian military, while others have engaged in business and other kinds of activity.
A large number of North Koreans are also believed to be working in construction in Russia, with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service stating in February that “North Korea dispatched thousands of workers to construction industry sites across Russia last year.” Even if the war in Ukraine ends, Russia is likely to remain in need of North Korean labourers. Tourism from Russia to North Korea has also spiked, with the number of Russians visiting the country in 2024 reaching a 12-year high.
All this serves to illustrate that Russia and North Korea are committed to a long-term alliance, demonstrated clearly by a renewal of their mutual defence treaty last year. This partnership is likely to continue as long as Putin remains in power, but the extent of future cooperation will be impacted by the outcome of Moscow-Washington talks.