North Korea has conducted a missile test as leader Kim Jong Un travels to the Far Eastern regions of Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin. Kim spent two days traveling by armored train in hopes of discussing aid and a possible arms deal to help the Russians in their war against Ukraine. Both countries have been fairly isolated from Western democratic countries and are seeking to ally with one another.

What do these Nations want from each other?

Looking back at months before the meeting, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang amid accusations that North Korea was resupplying the Russians with artillery shells. However, it was made clear that no deal was set when Shoigu was there.

President Putin is looking for arms to use in the war against Ukraine, but he has limited options. Putin desires to replenish his ammunition supply, which the constant shelling in Ukraine has depleted. North Korea is believed to have a lot of old Soviet-era equipment. Russia is trying to prolong this war and is showing its weakness by having to buy equipment from a pariah state like North Korea, instead of producing it themselves. That itself raises the question of what happened to Russia’s military-industrial complex.

Kim is speculated to be seeking economic aid and humanitarian aid for his impoverished nation. It is also speculated that the North Korean Dictator is looking to get new technologies for the nation’s military, but that remains unknown due to the amount of information that has been released regarding this matter.

What does this mean for the war in Ukraine and both countries?

If the deal falls through, this will be a loophole for the North Korean regime to get past the sanctions set by the United Nations, since they would get aid from the Russian government. This will also probably lead to more sanctions being placed on Russia.

If an arms deal is complete, the Russians would have violated U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718, which prohibits the sale or supply of weapons to North Korea. This would also violate several other resolutions that the Russian government supported since they are a permanent member of the Security Council. If given weaponry, the Russian army would be able to refill their depleted supply due to their constant shelling of Ukrainian positions. The deal would also assist in prolonging the war in Ukraine, which seems to be Putin’s goal.

What does cooperation between these two nations mean for the West?

Cooperation between these two nations would be a nuisance for the West and NATO. This is due to the tight secrecy and private exchange of information between the two countries.

There is a substantial security risk that will be posed if the two nations start cooperating because of Russia’s nuclear capabilities, which North Korea does not currently have. This would put the West and NATO in a challenging position. This also means that more people are going to die in Ukraine and more resources are being drained from all the countries involved because of the war being prolonged and the unfortunate alliance between these two isolated nations.

Depending on the outcome of the meeting and if an arms deal is completed, there may be an increase in aid being sent from the United States to Ukraine.