What the meeting between Kim and Putin left

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After an unfruitful Hanoi summit, in which Kim Jong-un could not reach any agreement with Donald Trump, the North Korean leader met with Vladimir Putin

Last February, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in Hanoi, Vietnam, with US President Donald Trump at a historic summit, taking into account the ideological differences of both countries. In it, it was expected to make progress on issues related to the denuclearization of the North Korean regime and see the feasibility of eliminating the economic sanctions imposed on the Asian country in an attempt to get Kim out of isolation, characteristic of North Korea.

Leer en español: Lo que dejó la reunión entre Kim y Putin

Well, the outcome of the summit was disappointing for both leaders, but especially for Kim, he could not make any progress against the above. However, last Thursday and in a new attempt to get out of isolation, Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the promise of creating aid for the Asian country.

In this way, Kim arrived in the Russian border city Vladivostok, where he met Putin in an attempt to seek the support of a possible ally, while Moscow sought to "strengthen its influence in the region," as stated by South China Morning Post The meeting, which lasted a little over five hours, did not leave any signed agreement.

However, it stands out that it is the first meeting between the two leaders after both countries cooled their relations after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 , being that the communist bloc was once one of its closest allies. Since then, "Russia has tried to re-establish ties in the midst of a new confrontation with the West, and has already called for the UN sanctions to be eased for North Korea," the same media reports.

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A first approach

While there was no breakthrough in the issues to be discussed, the meeting between the two leaders tried to strengthen the relations between the two countries. This is how Russia enters the radar of international guarantor in matters where it is not usually called, thus being a direct threat to the United States. Therefore, in the final statements, Putin said that North Korea needs "guarantees of international security if it wants to finish its nuclear program," since "those imposed by the United States would probably not be enough," as the BBC stresses.

For North Korea it is about having another exit different from the Chinese option, taking into account that after the meetings held with Xi Jinping, China has only talked about alleviating the sanctions but not putting them into practice. In addition , Kim needs sanctions to be lifted and thus continue in the attempt to stop being an isolated country and enter the global market using Russia as a possible actor to benefit both countries.

In addition to the denuclearization, Kim went to Putin in an attempt to ask for help in the midst of the difficult economic situation that passes the country, added to the crisis of food shortages . In view of this, and as El País affirms, "Russia has already provided the Kim regime with some 23 million euros in humanitarian aid in recent years (…) and on Thursday, Putin stressed that the intention is to develop the commercial relationship and humanitarian 'with North Korea. "

However, Russia's role is still ambiguous, because, as Koh Yu-hwan, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, comments in dialogue with the South China Morning Post, "Russia's cooperation with the North it will limit humanitarian food aid and the hiring of North Korean workers in the development of its Far East region (…) bilateral trade between the two countries is minimal, due to international sanctions against Pyongyang ", the above taking into account that Russia is also under sanctions and helping the North Korean country becomes complicated because it has to take care not to violate them.

LatinAmerican Post | Laura Viviana Guevara Muñoz

Translated from "Lo que dejó la reunión entre Kim y Putin"