“Little Rocket Man” Visits Russia

[Fig. 1] Kim Jong-un getting off the train (Yonhap News Agency, Korean Central News Agency)

Arms buyers are on board

North Korean state media outlet KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un left Pyongyang on a private train on the afternoon of September 10 for the summit with Putin, saying that “key officials from the party, government, and armed forces will accompany him.”

The composition of Kim’s entourage suggests that the summit is likely to result in an arms deal between Russia and North Korea.

The entourage includes a number of military leaders.

The U.S. State Department has said that Russia’s arms deal with North Korea violates U.N. Security Council resolutions and will impose sanctions if North Korea provides arms to Russia.

If an arms deal occurs between North Korea and Russia, the United States could impose additional economic sanctions on North Korea.

Reach the final stage of a munitions trade

A senior U.S. government official has characterized the Russia-North Korea summit as the final step in an arms deal that could include the provision of raw materials to support Russia’s defense industry.

Supply and demand between Putin and Kim Jong-un

Could Putin give Kim Jong-un nuclear submarine and satellite technology in exchange for artillery shells to supply the Russo-Ukrainian war? Let’s take a look at a few reasons.

1. In particular, experts said North Korea is likely to provide older shells used in Russia’s main guns, including the 122mm and 152mm.
2. North Korean militia-owned Multiple Rocket Launchers(MRL) were featured in a recent parade in Pyongyang. The older MRLs have become obsolete for the North Korean regular army. It would be much more profitable to sell the surplus artillery and shells to Russia.
3. North Korea has been focusing on military satellite technology, but its tests have always failed. Russia has the technology that North Korea does not.
4. North Korea needs nuclear submarine technology as an asymmetric power.