01-07-2024: President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin’s aeroplane touched down in Pyongyang, the capital of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a.k.a. “North Korea”), in the early hours of June 18. Waiting to greet him on the airport tarmac was DPRK Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and other senior members of the DPRK government. V Putin and Kim Jong Un met last September when Kim Jong Un visited Russia’s Vostochny spaceport in the Far East. At that time, President Putin pledged assistance for the development of the DPRK’s satellite program.[1] Today’s visit by President Putin to the DPRK is his first to the northern side of the Korean peninsula in 24 years, underscoring its importance.[2] It occurs in the context of continuing and unbridled hostility to Russia by the imperialist Western elite, principally based in the US (United States of America) along with their vassal allies in the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU). This unrestrained malice towards Moscow continues despite, or perhaps because of, the practical defeat of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and its vicious proxy war on Moscow via Ukraine.
Western foes unite
Imperialism and its multi-front assault on the planet, ever threatening to ignite World War III, has so far resulted only in welding the non-Western majority of the planet into various alliances of self-preservation. The Russia-DPRK pact which has now been confirmed is a vitally important part of this web, and a geo-political game changer. It raises the stakes in the US’ dangerous game of nuclear chicken with Russia in Ukraine, and it could be interpreted as one of Russia’s promised asymmetrical responses to NATO’s arming of Nazi battalions in Ukraine.[3] The DPRK, despite being punished by US sanctions for decades, has an advanced program of nuclear weapons, and alongside Russia’s devastating nuclear missile arsenal their union is a strong defence of peace in North East Asia. Without saying so openly, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is well pleased with the vast improvement of Russia/DPRK ties as it provides something of a buffer against ongoing US led provocations over Taiwan and through the South China Sea.
Both Russia and the DPRK face severe pressure from the US ruling class and their allies, including heavy economic sanctions. Given this scenario, most can see it is only natural for the two countries to come together for collective security,[4] as well as many trade benefits. In fact, the Russia-DPRK pact (even if Putin as the uber diplomat will not even refer to it as an alliance) signals the effective end of United Nations (UN) sanctions on the DPRK. To their shame, both the governments of Russia and the PRC once backed UN sanctions imposed on the DPRK in 2006 for developing nuclear arms.[5] Now the tide has turned, and it appears at least the Russian government has realised that assisting Western efforts to isolate and punish the DPRK has rebounded back on themselves. With Russia no longer policing sanctions on the DPRK, the way is open to vast increases in bilateral trade and other assistance such as food – as Russia is the world’s largest food producer.
New Treaty
During the visit, Putin and Kim signed a Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which lays the groundwork for bilateral relations in cultural exchange, tourism, trade, economic partnership and security.[6] Crucially, the Treaty has provisions for both sides to provide the other with immediate military and other assistance using all available means if either side is in a state of war, in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter.[7] While not headlined as such, this is a straightforward military alliance, which has the effect of strengthening the defence of the entirety of Eurasia against deadly Western imperialist provocations. The pooling of resources to deter Washington and London from considering yet more regime change wars, colour revolutions – let alone direct war on Russia, China, Iran or the DPRK – can only be welcomed by working people the world over. Whatever political criticisms one may have of the Eurasian governments, their military, economic and political strength and unification is the main element staying the hand of the desperate capitalist rulers of the West, who are itching for conflict.
It should be noted that despite the current Russia/DPRK bloc against the West, both the governments of Russia and the DPRK capitulated to the draconian imperialist imposition of a fraudulent “Covid pandemic” from 2020 to 2022. Immediately following this debacle, however, the DPRK strongly defended Russia with its special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022. Initially, it was almost the only non-Russian nation to do so. Today, however, there is no longer any doubt that the West is waging war on Russia using Ukraine as a proxy, sacrificing hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian lives and potentially ending Ukraine as an independent state. The global majority (the non-Western nations of Asia, Africa, Eurasia and Latin America) now side with Russia, or are at least distancing themselves from Washington’s seemingly endless sanctions and outright war against Russia and the threat of the same to anyone friendly to Moscow.
There is much that is bizarre and uncouth about the leadership cult which dominates society in the DPRK. It is the wildest example of Stalinist politics which exists today. Despite this, the DPRK remains a bureaucratically deformed workers’ state, with a comprehensive socialistic economy as a major gain for its epic victory in fighting the US empire to a standstill in the early 1950s. Workers in the DPRK enjoy free housing, free education, free healthcare, guaranteed employment and a host of other benefits as a result. What is required is a proletarian political revolution on the northern side of the Korean peninsula, combined with a socialist revolution in the capitalist South. The socialist reunification of Korea will likely be one result of immense class struggles across the globe.
In the meantime, the immediate concern for working people internationally is the prevention of a catastrophic global war launched by the West. This requires working people disarming imperialism by raising itself to power and taking their economies into public ownership. During this struggle, the military defence of Russia, the DPRK and its allies against the ruling classes of the belligerent West remains key. An internationalist Marxist vanguard leadership must still be forged to permanently end the dire prospect of global conflict, rooted in the dying system of production for private profit.
Workers League
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[1] www.npr.org/2024/06/18/nx-s1-5010305/putin-kim-jong-un-north-korea-russia-meeting (26-06-2024)
[2] www.journal-neo.su/2024/06/25/putins-visit-to-north-korea-and-vietnam-context-and-implications/ (26-06-2024)
[3] www.globalresearch.ca/russia-mutual-defense-pact-north-korea/5860524 (26-06-2024)
[4] https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202406/1314741.shtml (26-06-2024)
[5] www.journal-neo.su/2024/06/24/putin-in-pyongyang-breaking-insular-us-led-sanctions-and-reclaiming-the-un/ (26-06-2024)
[6] www.greanvillepost.com/2024/06/19/putins-state-visit-to-north-korea-warm-welcome-bilateral-agreements-and-a-new-comprehensive-partnership-treaty/ (26-06-2024)
[7] www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/key-points-north-korea-russia-landmark-strategic-partnership-treaty-2024-06-20/ (26-06-2024)
Image: Russian President Vladimir Putin is greeted in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang by his DPRK counterpart Kim Jong Un on June 19, 2024. http://www.apnews.com
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