Ukraine war gives North Korea reasons to draw closer to Russia

Pyongyang wants to dispatch laborers to the Russia-controlled regions of eastern Ukraine—Donetsk and Luhansk—providing the Kim regime with a much-needed source of overseas income. Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to provide allies with advanced weapons and military equipment, just as North Korea is pursuing new assets like hypersonic missiles. Moscow can also boost its cross-border trade of food and aid and use its seat on the United Nations Security Council to block any tighter sanctions on North Korea.

North Korea was one of just five countries in March to vote against a U.N. resolution demanding that Russia end its invasion of Ukraine, with Pyongyang blaming the “hegemonic policy” of the U.S. and its allies as the root cause. In July, North Korea became one of the first countries to officially recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics, a move that prompted Kyiv to cut diplomatic ties with Pyongyang.

“For North Korea, supporting Putin opens the door to more significant sanctions evasions and sensitive technology cooperation,” said Patrick Cronin, the Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute, a think tank in Washington.