Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged deeper cooperation with North Korea on building a “new world order,” in a message published by Pyongyang’s state news agency KCNA that came hours before the North launched a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan.
In a greeting to Kim Jong Un marking the 81st anniversary of North Korea’s liberation from Japanese occupation, Putin declared that ties between Moscow and Pyongyang had been “elevated to an unprecedentedly high level of comprehensive strategic partnership.” He said the two countries were “actively cooperating in all areas and coordinating efforts to ensure regional security and stability.”
Missile Launch Amid Joint US-South Korea Drills
The timing of the message and the missile launch underscored the deepening military alignment between Russia and North Korea. Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan on the eve of joint military exercises by South Korea and the United States, a move widely seen as a demonstration of force tied to the strengthening Moscow-Pyongyang axis.
The missile launch came as the US and South Korea prepared their latest round of combined military drills, which North Korea routinely condemns as rehearsals for invasion. The addition of Russian diplomatic backing has emboldened Pyongyang’s posture, with Kim Jong Un increasingly framing North Korea’s missile program as part of a broader multipolar security architecture alongside Moscow.
Strategic Partnership Deepens
The partnership has accelerated significantly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Western intelligence agencies have assessed that North Korea has provided Russia with artillery ammunition, ballistic missiles and, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, potentially up to 50,000 troops for deployment in the conflict. In return, Russia has provided advanced military technology and diplomatic cover at the United Nations.
Putin’s reference to a “new world order” in his message to Kim signals Moscow’s broader geopolitical ambition to use the partnership as part of a challenge to the Western-led international system. The Kremlin has increasingly framed its alliance with Pyongyang, alongside relationships with China and Iran, as a counterweight to NATO and the United States.
The warm exchange also followed a visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Pyongyang earlier this year, where the two sides discussed military cooperation and regional security. Moscow has been steadily expanding its network of alliances outside the Western sphere, using energy, arms sales and shared opposition to US hegemony as binding elements.
The deepening Russia-North Korea relationship has raised alarm in Tokyo and Seoul, where officials view the military cooperation as a direct threat to regional stability. Japan’s 2026 Defense White Paper, published earlier this month, identified Russia as one of Japan’s critical security threats, prompting Putin to visit the disputed Kuril Islands in a pointed response. South Korea has responded by accelerating its own military modernization program and deepening intelligence-sharing with Washington.
Sources: KCNA; Reuters; Mezha; The Institute for the Study of War
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