What happened
Russian President Vladimir Putin is traveling to Pyongyang on Tuesday for a two-day visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Putin is making his first trip to North Korea since 2000 as "Moscow is hungry for munitions" to use against Ukraine, The Washington Post said. Putin hosted Kim in far-eastern Russia last September.
Who said what
Putin said in an op-ed in North Korean state media Monday that Moscow and Pyongyang will develop trade and security systems "not controlled by the West" and thanked North Korea for "firmly supporting" his war in Ukraine.
The U.S. and South Korea have repeatedly said that support includes "providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment," possibly in return for "key military technologies and aid," The Associated Press said. North Korea and Russia deny trading arms.
What next?
"We're not concerned about the trip," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said, just the "deepening relationship between these two countries." The Ukraine war has drawn Moscow and Pyongyang closer together, but "there is too much mutual distrust between the two countries" for a lasting alliance, Andrei Lankov, an expert on Russia–North Korea relations, told the Post.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Sudoku medium: November 30, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Pentagon targets Kelly over ‘illegal orders’ videoSpeed Read The Pentagon threatened to recall Kelly to active duty
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
US, Kyiv report progress on shifting Ukraine peace planSpeed Read The deal ‘must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty,’ the countries said
-
Comey grand jury never saw final indictmentSpeed Read This ‘drove home just how slapdash’ the case is, said The New York Times
-
Summers out at Harvard, OpenAI amid Epstein furorSpeed Read Summers was part of a group being investigated by Harvard for Epstein ties
-
Defeating Russia’s shadow fleetThe Explainer A growing number of uninsured and falsely registered vessels are entering international waters, dodging EU sanctions on Moscow’s oil and gas
