How North Korea Is Giving Russia an Edge in the War on Ukraine

Without the involvement of North Korea, Russia’s war in Ukraine might have taken a different turn. The infusion of weaponry and troops provided by Kim Jong Un’s regime has helped Russia to repel Ukrainian forces from its soil and keep up the relentless bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities. North Korea has likely received military aid in return, increasing the threat posed by the isolated nation to the US and its allies in East Asia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin long treated North Korea with ambivalence, maintaining relations while viewing Pyongyang as a potentially destabilizing influence in Russia’s vast backyard. But the alliance they struck up in recent years is proving to be an effective riposte to the sanctions imposed on both nations by Western powers.