Pro-Russian telegram channels and media are actively reporting Pyongyang’s readiness for a meeting between Kremlin head Volodymyr Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. On June 18-19, negotiations will take place to sign an agreement on a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in order to overcome Western sanctions. The day before the visit, the North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun published Putin’s article “Russia and the DPRK: traditions of friendship and cooperation through the years”.

On June 17, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at a conference at the Wilson Center, noted that the Kremlin ruler's trip to the DPRK “demonstrates how much President Putin and Moscow now depend on authoritarian countries around the world”. In particular, their cooperation takes place in the military sphere. This is confirmed by information from Bloomberg, which reported that the DPRK could send about 5 million artillery shells to Russia. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, citing intelligence reports, said North Korea provided Russia with launchers and several ballistic missiles. The Russians subsequently used them for attacks in Ukraine.

Russia has long tried to avoid and circumvent Western sanctions by buying goods with restrictions on sale. Although the aggressor country boasts that it has successfully avoided restrictions, it is still trying to get rid of them. Thanks to North Korea's support, as well as Moscow's ability to supply banned parts through third countries, Russia was able to increase its ammunition production much more than Ukraine receives from its allies, Bloomberg reports.

The United States fears that as a result of the visit, the Russian Federation may provide assistance to North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, and in turn, the ballistic missiles and artillery shells that Moscow is using in the war against Ukraine.

However, the United States will do everything possible to stop the supply of weapons from Iran and North Korea to Russia for the war against Ukraine.

In addition, on the eve of Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, the EU imposed sanctions against nine people and companies that help the weapons programs of the DPRK and Russia. They are involved in North Korean activities related to illegal weapons programs and support for the war against Ukraine.