‘Isolated nations’: the roots of the Russia-North Korea alliance

Analysis: Moscow and Pyongyang’s new partnership has its roots in Stalin and Kim Il Sung’s post-World War II relationship By Robert Barnes, York St John University The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has spent two days in Pyongyang, meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and signing a “comprehensive strategic partnership”. Few details are being released about this deal and its expected ramifications for rearming Russian forces stretched by the Ukraine war. But the Kremlin said the agreement would mean each country would come to the aid of the other if attacked. At the top of the agenda for the…