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Written by Uriel Araujo, Anthropology PhD, is a social scientist specializing in ethnic and religious conflicts, with extensive research on geopolitical dynamics and cultural interactions
Financial Times has reported on the rising Russian-North Korean commercial co-operation by emphasising (in its headline) “Apples, sausages and workers”. The truth is that the deepening alliance between the Russian Federation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, cemented in June 2024 through a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, goes way beyond that, marking a turning point in Northeast Asian geopolitics; and such ties are growing stronger.
One should keep in mind is not a fleeting or merely tactical convergence. Rather, it represents a structural realignment, with North Korea (NK) securing access to satellite technologies, energy supplies, and critical resources, effectively ending its long period of economic and diplomatic isolation.
Predictably, Washington has decried the move as a destabilizing threat. Yet, for both Moscow and Pyongyang, this partnership is a pragmatic response to decades of Western pressure. It offers a mutually beneficial framework to resist American dominance while unlocking new economic and strategic opportunities.
According to Hee Kyoung Chang (full-time lecturer of the IN-EAST Institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen, in Germany), “North Korea understands the world order as no longer unipolar and led by a US hegemon, but as a multipolar world. North Korea increasingly frames the current geopolitical moment as a ‘new Cold War,’ one shaped by US-led policies to consolidate a trilateral alliance with South Korea and Japan against China, Russia and North Korea.” Moreover, the same expert argues that the 2023 Camp David summit, establishing measures like the Nuclear Consultative Group, intensified this perception. Pyongyang’s alignment with Moscow in a way echoes its 1961 Soviet alliance, responding to perceived threats from the US-Japan-South Korea security axis and nuclear deployments.
Washington’s policy toward NK has long been defined by sanctions and military containment, anchored as it is in a narrow focus on nuclear disarmament. As I argued back in 2021, framing every interaction with Pyongyang through a nuclear lens has choked off broader diplomatic avenues and ensured a cycle of mistrust. This posture has also driven North Korea closer to Russia.
The aforementioned 2024 treaty includes mutual defense provisions and broad economic cooperation. For Pyongyang, this means access to vital Russian energy exports, technical expertise, and satellite assistance — elements that strengthen its resilience against Western sanctions.
This is not simply a transactional exchange. Rather, it is a synergistic alignment. Russia, heavily sanctioned by the West over the Ukraine war — a conflict arguably precipitated by NATO overreach — finds in NK a reliable partner. Pyongyang’s capacity for mass-producing conventional weapons and missiles complements Russia’s wartime needs, while Moscow’s energy and technological inputs help stabilize the North Korean economy.
We are talking about a growing military-industrial alignment aimed at circumventing Western embargoes and creating a resilient counter-axis. Koh Yuhwan, emeritus professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, argues that “In the past, North Korea sought to ensure its survival by pursuing normalization with the United States. Now, it has entered a new era, one in which it looks to Russia instead.” He adds that since 2011, when Kim Jong Un took power, this could be “the regime’s most stable period to date in terms of political control and economic conditions.”
Economically, North Korea is beginning to chart a new course. The Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area — a $2 billion prestige project under Kim Jong Un’s “20×10” development strategy — has recently been completed. Although underutilized due to frequent military activities in the vicinity, the complex reflects Pyongyang’s ambition to cultivate a domestic middle class and attract niche foreign visitors, particularly from Russia. Fewer than 900 Russian tourists visited in 2024, but that number could grow significantly with Kremlin support and eased restrictions.
This subtle economic pivot suggests NK is no longer content with pure autarky. It seeks selective integration — on its own terms — into a Eurasian network less beholden to Western norms.
Diplomatically, the implications are profound. North Korea’s strengthened position allows it to reengage with other powers within an emerging tripartite framework that counters American influence. As I noted in 2023, when such an alignment seemed to be emerging, this is not mere opportunism but a coordinated strategic response to decades of Washington’s obstructionism in the region.
China, notably silent about NK’s military cooperation with Russia, appears willing to tolerate or quietly support this axis as part of its broader campaign to dilute American power in Asia. For Russia, the alliance provides a new foothold in Northeast Asia and an eastward extension of its “Greater Eurasia” vision.
Still, the partnership is not without its complications. Missile launches near tourist developments like Wonsan-Kalma undercut Pyongyang’s development ambitions, spooking investors and deterring visitors. Russia, for its part, must weigh its commitments carefully, with its economy adjusting (so far successfully) to long-term sanctions.
Moreover, the alliance could prompt sharper responses from Washington and its allies. But here again, Washington is constrained by its own doctrinal rigidity. By refusing to see North Korea as more than a nuclear problem, it fails to account for the broader economic and diplomatic realignments underway.
The consequences for the Eurasian region are considerable. This budding Russia-North Korea axis weakens the effectiveness of sanctions, reshapes trade patterns, and elevates Pyongyang’s global stature. The Russia-North Korea alliance is thus a bold reconfiguration of Eurasian geopolitics. So much for the US containment strategy, which now appears exhausted. North Korea is no longer the isolated hermit kingdom of popular imagination. It is forging a new path — one defined by selective engagement, strategic leverage, and a partnership with Moscow.
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