Putin and Kim: An indomitable friendship and a military alliance that is shifting the balance of power

In a move reflecting the deepening alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised what he called an “invincible friendship” with North Korea in an official New Year’s message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. State media confirmed on Thursday that the message capped a year of unprecedented military and political rapprochement between the two countries.

Brotherhood in struggle against challenges

In his message, the Russian president explicitly praised Pyongyang's on-the-ground support for Moscow's ongoing war effort against Ukraine. Putin used the term "combat brotherhood" to describe the relationship between the two countries' soldiers, indicating that this cooperation went beyond political support to actual participation on the ground.

According to North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, Putin said: “The heroic entry of Korean People’s Army soldiers into the battles to liberate the Kursk region from the occupiers, and the subsequent activities of Korean engineers on Russian soil, clearly demonstrated the indomitable friendship between our two nations.” This statement represents a rare official acknowledgment of the participation of foreign forces in direct combat operations within Russian territory.

Historical background and comprehensive strategic partnership

This message cannot be read in isolation from the geopolitical shifts of the past year. Last June, during Putin's historic visit to Pyongyang, the two leaders signed a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty." This treaty included a crucial clause on mutual defense, obligating each party to provide immediate military assistance by all available means in the event of armed aggression against the other.

Observers believe that the activation of the provisions of this treaty, as Putin stated in his message that it was achieved “thanks to joint efforts,” represents a strong return to alliances reminiscent of the Cold War era, but in a new global context in which both parties seek to break the Western isolation imposed on them.

Field facts and regional repercussions

On the ground, South Korean and Western intelligence agencies estimated North Korea's involvement at over 10,000 troops deployed to Russia during 2024, supported by massive quantities of ammunition and long-range missile systems. Intelligence assessments in Seoul indicate that the cost of this involvement was substantial, with an estimated 2,000 North Korean soldiers killed in Russia.

This military cooperation has raised widespread concern in the region, as South Korea, under former President Yun Suk-yeol, has hinted at the possibility of revising its policy of not supplying weapons to conflict zones, which opens the door to the possibility of supplying Kyiv with advanced weapons, which could change the deterrence equations in East Asia and Eastern Europe.

Towards a New World Order

In his message, Putin linked the strength of bilateral relations with Moscow’s larger goal of changing the shape of the international system, stressing that this alliance “will contribute to establishing a just system for a multipolar world.”.

In a related context regarding the human losses, North Korean state media showed the humanitarian side from Pyongyang’s point of view, publishing pictures of leader Kim Jong Un consoling the families of soldiers who died in Russia, speaking of their “unbearable pain,” and showing his emotion as he embraced soldiers returning from the front, in an internal message aimed at strengthening popular cohesion around this strategic alliance.