After the USSR collapsed, North Korea was the target of numerous, sometimes very nasty, jokes from the Russian population until the early 2000s.
Not so long ago, the Russian people looked mockingly and with disgust at the North Korean people's servile worshipping of their leaders, first Kim Jong Il and then Kim Jong Un.
The current leader of North Korea is said to have done nothing but be "a fat kid," appointed after the demise of his father, Kim Jong Il.
Fortunately for Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin has succeeded in reversing the “de-Sovietisation” of Russia initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev and continued by Boris Yeltsin.
Putin originally initiated an almost invisible return to the Soviet model of Russian leadership and anti-Western philosophy, with a gradual increase in insensitivity.
After two decades of skilled indoctrination, the majority of the Russian people are not much different from the Soviet people in their state of submission and obedience, and they now regard the people of North Korea as partners in the fight against the West.
A larger part of the Russian population enthusiastically welcomed Putin's visit to Pyongyang, unconditionally supporting him in all his aggressive and deviant endeavours.
Fortunately for the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, the Russian people have developed Soviet-like traits again faster than expected and have welcomed Putin’s visit to Kim Jong Un unconditionally.
Putin loves to use the hungry and angry
Vladimir Putin pursued specific tactical and strategic goals during his visit to Pyongyang. He needed more artillery ammunition, which is one of the reasons he visited Kim Jong Un.
With his visit to Pyongyang, Putin has thrown a spanner in the works for China because he wants Russia to lead the global anti-Western initiative and not just be a second-rate participant.
Putin does not want Russia to be China's little brother. He fears that Russia's chauvinist majority will revolt against this
He does not want Russia to be China's little brother. He fears that Russia's chauvinist majority will revolt against this.
Moreover, deep down, Vladimir Putin is afraid of China because one day China might decide to remember that it was attacked by Russia in the days of Tsarist Russia. As a result of this aggression, Russia has, as always, carried out a land grab and annexed part of China's territory.
Ideologically and in terms of camaraderie, Russia feels more comfortable with younger partners, like North Korea, which are much smaller. North Korea is a perfect partner for Putin’s Russia. He loves to use the hungry and angry.
North Korea will show its muscles
Unlike the USSR, today's Russia has no ideology to share with the world. It merely wants to unite enemies of the West in a union, which is very attractive for countries like North Korea.
Vladimir Putin will now empower North Korea by claiming that he is doing this because the West supports Ukraine. He will mislead the world as always, hoping to force the world community to stop supporting Ukraine.
However, Putin assumes that an empowered North Korea will be able to flex its muscles on the global stage, particularly against South Korea and Japan.
North Korea wants submarines, more powerful missiles, and satellites. Russia can offer all this
He has a vested interest in engaging in an increasing number of global conflicts with the aim of dismantling the NATO alliance, making North Korea an ideal partner for such endeavours.
North Korea wants submarines, more powerful missiles, and satellites. Russia can offer all this, given that North Korea has obsolete artillery ammunition in large quantities, which Russia so desperately needs to continue its war against Ukraine.
On the one hand, Vladimir Putin will get what he wants to satisfy his tactical needs in the context of a war against Ukraine, while strategically, he will boost the military capabilities of another despotic and authoritarian regime that shares his contempt for the West.
The positive thing about this visit to Pyongyang is that even sceptics and pacifists can see that Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un can only get worse until the day their systems collapse, just as the USSR did in the past.
They will not improve; on the contrary, they will only grow more dangerous for global peace and world stability. They will continue their deviation and aggression unless they are victimised, crushed, and exposed to conditions that will force them to retreat.
