The Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting North Korea and its supreme leader Kim Jong Un for the first time in 24 years, arriving in the capital Pyongyang on June 18.  

bne IntelliNews already reported that Putin is set to strengthen diplomatic ties with North Korea and Vietnam — the second stop on his trip that has been strongly criticised by the US — after he intensified war efforts in Ukraine and shook up his domestic defence establishment.

The Russian army has already used North Korean shells and ballistic missiles extensively in the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, the quality of the former and the accuracy of the ammunition supplied were questionable, according to The Bell. 

However, North Korea still possesses some of the largest global stock of artillery shells that can be used in Soviet-era systems.

Bloomberg also pointed to the most recent North Korean tests of large-calibre guided missiles as a demonstration of new offence capabilities ahead of Putin's visit.

In an article published by the Kremlin and North Korean media, Putin said Russia “highly appreciates the DPRK’s [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] unwavering support for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, their solidarity with us on key international matters and willingness to defend our common priorities and views within the United Nations.” 

Russia is expected to provide North Korea with advanced military technology such as spy satellites and possibly even conventional arms such as tanks and aircraft, observers told Bloomberg.

In a sign that cooperation with North Korea will deepen, Putin is accompanied by the newly appointed Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov (responsible for economic policy and import substitution), Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak (responsible for energy policy), Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as Russian space agency chief Yury Borisov and the head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov, among other high profile officials.

Putin’s visit to North Korea takes place less than a year after Kim visited Russia in September 2023. Previously, Putin visited Kim’s father Kim Jong-il back in 2000, shortly after he became president of Russia for the first time. 

“Russia has always supported and will continue to support the DPRK and the heroic Korean people in their opposition to the insidious, dangerous and aggressive enemy,” Putin wrote in his article, referring to the US.

On arrival in North Korea, Putin pledged to Kim that the two will strike a new strategic partnership agreement. 

"Last year, as a result of your visit to Russia, we made significant progress in building our interstate ties. Today, a new fundamental document has been prepared, which will form the basis of our relations for the long term,” Putin told Kim, as cited by Tass and RBC business portal.

Notably, Putin seemed to confirm that the main goal of such an agreement would be to boost military ties. "The comprehensive partnership treaty signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in case of aggression versus one of the parties to this treaty," Putin said.

Theoretically, any attack against Russian military in the ongoing full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, or attacks on the annexed Ukrainian regions, or strikes against infrastructure inside Russia, could thus be used by Putin as a formal reason for receiving North Korean military aid. 

Indeed, Putin drew attention to recent statements by the US, European, and NATO officials supporting the use of Western-supplied arms to be used for strikes on Russian territory. According to him, "this is a gross violation of the restrictions taken by Western countries within the framework of various kinds of international commitments," as cited by Tass.