President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang earlier this month, his first visit to North Korea in 24 years. The two countries have signed a comprehensive co-operation agreement that includes a mutual defense pact – that is, if one country is attacked, the other will come to its defense militarily.

It is also expected that Russia will help North Korea with technical assistance for its military, ballistic missile and satellite programs. This meeting and the security pact, coming close on the heels of a similar summit between Xi Jinping and Putin, is not likely to go down well with others in the region, especially South Korea and Japan. US officials have also said that it could create some friction between Russia and China, as it would undermine China’s more or less exclusive leverage over North Korea.

But Russia-North Korea relations haven’t been great until recently. What has sparked this revival? Is there a deep ideological convergence between the two authoritarian leaders, or is it just a transactional relationship? How would China view this pact? And what would be the impact of this agreement in South Korea and Japan?

Guest: Professor Sandip Kumar Mishra from the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Jude Francis Weston