The total duration of the meetings with a broad and narrow composition of the delegations of the Russian Federation and the DPRK was approximately 4 hours.
Photo: TASS
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un met again four years later, this time at the Vostochny cosmodrome.
The total duration of the meetings in a broad and narrow composition of the delegations of the Russian Federation and the DPRK was approximately 4 hours. What the leaders talked about one on one remained between them: there were no briefings or memoranda about the agreements made. .
At Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda we discussed the topic of the meeting and its consequences with the senior researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Konstantin Asmolov.
– What awaits us in relations with North Korea after the current September meeting between the two leaders and delegations?
– In the context of global turbulence, Moscow and Pyongyang will try to strengthen cooperation, as this is due to a common threat posed by the collective West. It is obvious to experts that the wave of demonization of Moscow and Pyongyang, including regular rumors about arms trade, is aimed at triggering the formation of a Washington-Tokyo-Seoul bloc in the region. An important step forward has been taken in this direction.
– The formation of an analogue of the Asian NATO?
– This was confirmed after the August summit at the American Camp David with the participation of the presidents of South Korea and the United States and the prime minister of Japan.
– Will Moscow and Pyongyang begin to build a new set of deep and mutually beneficial relations or are we talking about unique defense contracts?
– What will develop next, as one might assume, is a situation of cooperation due to a common threat.
– So what specific forms will this take?
– This will depend on the evolution of the economic and political situation in our countries. I repeat: before our eyes the blocs are beginning to take shape, they can have different formats, and this is not a single partnership, because Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang will simply be forced to actively stay together.
– In the 2000s, in Russia one heard disdainfully: “Do you want it to be like in the DPRK?”
– This was heard quite often by people who remember the DPRK as a caricatured “evil state.” This perception has been formed since the times when our dissident intelligentsia subscribed to North Korean magazines instead of Krokodil magazine.
– Did this distorted idea later play a negative role in our relationship?
– There is a feeling that our country once missed the moment when North Korea seriously recovered. And now, despite the peculiarities of the regime, this is a country that has a significant industrial and engineering personnel base. Although the launches of its satellites and missiles are not always successful, regular exercises with ballistic missiles and other variants of the nuclear missile component should tell us that this country is quite developed. And there are no cardboard cutouts of formidable weapons: everything is serious there.
– Did they reach this level, including thanks to our specialists and specialists from the former republics of the USSR?
– Including. In general, the pace of development of the DPRK is perhaps what most scares those who like to talk about North Korea’s backwardness. As for the other image in the mass consciousness… In fact, before catching up with North Korea, Russia may see if it can catch up with South Korea, with its strict anti-extremism legislation, Internet with passport and other things. that are now difficult for us to imagine in our reality.
– Is it true that, despite the serious support of China, which supports the DPRK, the country prefers to live on self-sufficient labor?
– The conversation about the extent to which North Korea has a “self-sufficient” economy is largely debatable. The economic problems are recognized by the country’s leaders themselves. It must be remembered that North Korea is neither China nor Russia in terms of almost unlimited resources. But they are trying to build a similar economic model.
– In connection with recent events, there is more and more talk about the military component of our relations, but to what extent is it possible?
– Everyone talks about hypothetical options, such as supplying Soviet artillery systems with Soviet caliber shells. Or about the participation of North Korean fighters in the Northern Military District…
– And in fact?
– There has already been talk about options for joint exercises, both bilateral and trilateral. Or about the fact that North Korean satellites will be launched with Russian rockets. In fact, this is a much more important area of cooperation.
– That is, space?
– Including space.
– When you talk about missiles, are you also referring to the military?
– No, this is exactly what was proposed. Let me remind you that North Korea is formally prohibited from launching satellites into space, since these are ballistic missiles and such a launch vehicle is practically no different from a combat one. And the launch of North Korean satellites, which the DPRK really needs, on Russian rockets largely solves this problem.
– In Russia many have heard about the Juche idea, but few understand what it is about.
– The simplest way to translate Juche into Russian is sovereignty. It is worth remembering that North Korea has already outlived the Soviet Union in terms of the total life expectancy of a sovereign state with its own special path of development.
