 "Putin looks east to bolster ties with North Korea")
Angry with the West's response over Ukraine and eager to diversify its options, Russia is moving rapidly to bolster ties with North Korea in a diplomatic nose-thumbing that could complicate the US-led effort to squeeze Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear weapons programme.
Russia's proactive strategy in Asia, which also involves cosying up to China and has been dubbed "Putin's Pivot," began years ago as Moscow's answer to Washington's much-touted alliance-building and rebalancing of its military forces in the Pacific.
Moscow's overtures to North Korea reflect both a defensive distancing from the EU and Washington because of their sanctions over Ukraine and a broader, long-term effort by Russia to strengthen its hand in Asia by building political alliances, expanding energy exports and developing Russian regions in Siberia and the Far East.
Better ties with Russia could provide a much needed economic boost, a counterbalance against Chinese influence and a potentially useful wedge against the West in international forums and particularly in the US-led effort to isolate Pyongyang over its development of nuclear weapons.
"By strengthening its relationship with North Korea, Russia is trying to enhance its bargaining position vis-à-vis the United States and Japan," said Narushige Michishita, a North Korea and Asia security expert at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
Michishita added that showing Washington he will not be cowed by the sanctions was "one of the most important factors" why Putin is wooing Pyongyang now.
Moscow remains wary of having a nuclear-armed North Korea on its border. But over the past few months it has courted the North with promises of increased trade and development projects, high-level political exchanges and a vote in the Duma, the top Russian legislative body, to write off nearly $10 billion in debt held over from the Soviet era.
It has pledged to reinvest $1 billion, which Pyongyang still owes, into a trans-Siberian railway through North Korea to South Korea, a project that is still in the very early stages. That, together with a pipeline, would allow Russia to export gas and electricity to South Korea, a potentially lucrative deal for all three.
Michishita noted that the same day the United Nation's General Assembly passed a resolution condemning Russia's annexation of Crimea, Russia and North Korea were busy signing an economic trade cooperation pact.
Russia's proactive strategy in Asia, which also involves cosying up to China and has been dubbed "Putin's Pivot," began years ago as Moscow's answer to Washington's much-touted alliance-building and rebalancing of its military forces in the Pacific.
Moscow's overtures to North Korea reflect both a defensive distancing from the EU and Washington because of their sanctions over Ukraine and a broader, long-term effort by Russia to strengthen its hand in Asia by building political alliances, expanding energy exports and developing Russian regions in Siberia and the Far East.
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Since the demise of the Soviet Union, North Korea has been struggling to keep its economy afloat and has depended heavily on trade and assistance from its ally China. Sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes have further isolated the country.
Better ties with Russia could provide a much needed economic boost, a counterbalance against Chinese influence and a potentially useful wedge against the West in international forums and particularly in the US-led effort to isolate Pyongyang over its development of nuclear weapons.
"By strengthening its relationship with North Korea, Russia is trying to enhance its bargaining position vis-à-vis the United States and Japan," said Narushige Michishita, a North Korea and Asia security expert at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
Michishita added that showing Washington he will not be cowed by the sanctions was "one of the most important factors" why Putin is wooing Pyongyang now.
Moscow remains wary of having a nuclear-armed North Korea on its border. But over the past few months it has courted the North with promises of increased trade and development projects, high-level political exchanges and a vote in the Duma, the top Russian legislative body, to write off nearly $10 billion in debt held over from the Soviet era.
It has pledged to reinvest $1 billion, which Pyongyang still owes, into a trans-Siberian railway through North Korea to South Korea, a project that is still in the very early stages. That, together with a pipeline, would allow Russia to export gas and electricity to South Korea, a potentially lucrative deal for all three.
Michishita noted that the same day the United Nation's General Assembly passed a resolution condemning Russia's annexation of Crimea, Russia and North Korea were busy signing an economic trade cooperation pact.