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Trump played nice with Putin. Is Kim Jong-un next?

Published: 17 Aug. 2025, 19:03 Updated: 17 Aug. 2025, 19:56

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, stands next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump drew criticism after signaling support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s cease-fire proposal during talks in Alaska on Friday, a move that critics said legitimized Russia's invasion of Ukraine and risked shielding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un from accountability for sending troops to the conflict.

Foreign media reported on Sunday that Trump appeared receptive to Putin’s plan to freeze the front lines if Ukraine ceded the Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk.

The arrangement appears to have sidelined the issue of Russian war crimes. The move comes despite the International Criminal Court having issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023 for the abduction of Ukrainian children.

“Most of all, gone was any hint of Mr. Putin’s status as an international pariah, a leader who could not land in most European countries for fear that he might be detained by officials acting on the arrest warrant issued against him for how the war in Ukraine was conducted,” David Sanger, a national security correspondent for the New York Times, said in an article on Friday.

“To those who have followed Mr. Trump’s diplomacy, this meeting seemed to have a natural comparison: Mr. Trump’s first encounter seven years ago with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, which was marked by embraces, handshakes, letters testifying to their mutual admiration — and a continued buildup of the North’s nuclear arsenal.”

Observers warned that Kim, who provided Russia with more than 12,000 troops and large amounts of weapons and supplies, may also evade accountability.

A North Korean flag flies over the nation's embassy in Moscow on Oct. 31, 2024. [AFP/YONHAP]

The Kremlin said Putin spoke with Kim by phone on Tuesday, three days before the summit with Trump, to share information. Analysts said the outcome of the talks could directly affect whether North Korea deploys additional forces, shifts its military role or withdraws troops.

“Punishing Kim and Putin was unlikely to be on the agenda in Alaska,” said Jeh Sung-hoon, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. “The summit instead reinforced the idea that North Korea and Russia view each other as partners, and there is little chance their relationship will loosen anytime soon.”

Even if the war in Ukraine stops, the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty” signed between Pyongyang and Moscow in June 2024 remains valid. The pact includes a mutual defense clause, marking the first time Russia has formally committed to possible military intervention on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea used the deployment to gain experience in modern warfare, test weapons intended for use against South Korea and secure Russian military technology, including air defense systems, in return.

Analysts warned that if accountability for the troop dispatch is ignored, Pyongyang could expand its illicit military cooperation with other countries. With Trump showing little interest, prospects for addressing Russian war crimes through the UN Security Council also appear slim, given Russia’s permanent seat and the likelihood that Washington will not push aggressively.

Russia has already undermined international oversight, as Moscow, in March 2024, blocked the mandate of a United Nations expert panel that monitored sanctions on Pyongyang. Despite sanctions violations, Kim and Putin openly acknowledged North Korea’s troop deployment and highlighted their alliance.

On Friday, Korea’s Liberation Day, Russian Communist Party Chairman Gennady Zyuganov sent a congratulatory message to Kim, thanking him for dispatching troops, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin visited Pyongyang on Thursday and said, “We will forever remember the courage and dedication of the North Korean soldiers.”

Kim may travel to Vladivostok next month for the Eastern Economic Forum, where he could hold another summit with Putin for the first time in two years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside of Tsiolkovsky, in the far eastern Amur region of Russia on Sept. 13, 2023. [AP/YONHAP]

North Korea’s muted response to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s Liberation Day speech on Friday, in which he said Seoul “will not pursue any form of unification by absorption and assert that we have no intention of engaging in hostile acts,” was seen as a sign of confidence backed by Russia.

The National Intelligence Service told lawmakers on July 30 that “North Korea, emboldened by Russia’s backing, sees a more favorable strategic environment and is likely to demand greater concessions from the South.”

Critics faulted Seoul for a weak response to the North's troop deployment. Since martial law was declared on Dec. 3, 2024, and political turmoil followed, South Korea could not respond to summits attended by heads of state, and the government has struggled to react quickly to matters such as North Korea's troop deployment.

Lee himself has avoided directly criticizing North Korea-Russia military cooperation even during his presidential campaign. Then-candidate Lee said in a televised debate on May 27 that “there is no need to be unnecessarily hostile” toward Russia and did not even mention North Korea’s ties.

After a meeting between Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, the State Department expressed “serious concerns” about strengthening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. However, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs omitted Washington's position in a press release.

“We must clearly state that the growing alignment between North Korea and Russia is unacceptable and a violation of international norms,” said Eom Gu-ho, professor of Russian studies at Hanyang University. “At the same time, we need a two-track strategy of recognizing the threat to South Korean security while seeking to repair ties with Moscow.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK HYUN-JU, SHIM SEOK-YONG [[email protected]]