Kim Jong-un, Putin hold ‘strategy session’ by phone before U.S.-Russia summit

North Korea on August 13 released details of a phone conversation the previous day between State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The disclosure appears to signal what was effectively a “strategy session” ahead of a planned U.S.-Russia summit to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Kim and Putin on August 12 “exchanged greetings with each other and had a conversation in a warm comradely atmosphere,” according to a Rodong Sinmun report released on August 13.

It is the first time North Korean media has publicly disclosed a conversation between its top leader and the leader of another country, apparently to highlight the close operation of a hotline between the two governments.

“Kim Jong-un expressed firm conviction that the DPRK would always remain faithful to the spirit of the DPRK-Russia treaty and fully support all measures to be taken by the Russian leadership in the future, too,” reported the state newspaper. DPRK is the full name of North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“Kim Jong-un expressed heartfelt thanks to his most esteemed Comrade Vladimir Putin for warmly congratulating all the DPRK people on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation,” added the report.

Given the timing, the two leaders are thought to have discussed matters related to the North Korean troops deployed to the Kursk front.

Putin is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on August 15 to discuss proposals for ending the war in Ukraine. The call also came the same day the Korean government officially announced that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Trump will hold their first summit on August 25.

The timing suggests Pyongyang and Moscow are moving in tandem against Seoul and Washington to reinforce a “bloc logic” and boost their negotiating leverage ahead of talks with the United States.

According to the Rodong Sinmun, Putin “highly appreciated once again the support provided by the DPRK and the bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit displayed by service personnel of the Korean People’s Army in liberating Kursk, a part of Russian territory.”

North Korea and Russia are seeking to justify the North’s troop deployment to Russia by citing the “Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” signed in June last year. Kim and Putin “highly appreciated the further development of cooperative relations in all fields” under the treaty, “confirming their will to strengthen cooperation in the future.”

The Kremlin said on August 12 that Putin shared information about the U.S.-Russia summit with Kim, but Pyongyang made no mention of it, only stating that the leaders “exchanged views on the issues of mutual concern.”

“North Korea and Russia are demonstrating their own sphere of influence through closer ties, jointly responding to moves by Seoul and Washington,” said Oh Kyung-sup, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification. “This alignment is likely to continue not only concerning ending the war in Ukraine but also in inter-Korean and North Korea-U.S. relations for the time being.”

BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]