Kim Jong Un of North Korea pledged “unwavering and absolute support” to Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Wednesday during a summit between the two leaders, who have found themselves isolated by Western nations.

The U.S. cautioned that this meeting could potentially lead to an agreement to provide ammunition for Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine.

This summit, lasting more than four hours and held at Russia’s Far East spaceport, highlights the growing alignment of interests between the two countries.

Putin is reportedly interested in securing something that North Korea possesses in abundance: stockpiles of aging ammunition and rockets designed for Soviet-era weaponry, the Associated Press reported.

Interestingly, this request represents a role reversal from the Korean War of 1950-1953 when Moscow supplied weapons to aid Pyongyang’s invasion of South Korea and during the subsequent decades of Soviet support for North Korea.

The choice of the Vostochny Cosmodrome as the meeting location, Russia’s primary space launch center on its own territory, suggests that Kim may be seeking Russian assistance in developing military reconnaissance satellites.

Kim has emphasized the importance of these satellites for enhancing the capabilities of his nuclear-capable missiles.

North Korea has made multiple unsuccessful attempts to launch its first military surveillance satellite into orbit.

Written by staff