Russia, China, Iran and North Korea: A Dangerous Alliance

Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) warns that Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are all "collaborating" to undermine the U.S. and its allies. Keane cites the recent announcement that Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to North Korea for a visit starting Tuesday as evidence of this growing threat.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea for a two-day visit starting Tuesday, both countries announced, amid international concerns about their military cooperation.

Russia, China, Iran and North Korea: A Dangerous Alliance

The visit comes as Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un find themselves at odds with the U.S., and other countries have raised concerns about their military cooperation amid Russia's war in Ukraine and North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell raised concern that Putin’s visit to the North could undermine stability in the region, standing against the U.S.-led international order.

Russia, China, Iran and North Korea: A Dangerous Alliance

There are growing concerns about an arms arrangement in which Pyongyang provides Moscow with badly needed munitions to fuel Putin’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that would enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.

Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Kim visited the Russian Far East in September for a meeting with Putin, their first since 2019.

U.S. and South Korean officials have accused the North of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment to help prolong its fighting in Ukraine, possibly in return for key military technologies and aid. Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied accusations about North Korean weapons transfers.

Any weapons trade with North Korea would be a violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that Russia, a permanent U.N. Security Council member, previously endorsed.

Andrei Lankov, an expert on North Korea at Kookmin University in Seoul, noted that in exchange for providing artillery munitions and short-range ballistic missiles, Pyongyang hopes to get higher-end weapons from Moscow.

Kim in recent months has made Russia his primary focus as he tries to strengthen his regional footing and expand cooperation with nations confronting the United States, embracing the idea of what he portrays as a "new Cold War. "

Putin first visited Pyongyang in July 2000, months after his first election when he met with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, who ruled the country then.

Moscow has said it "highly appreciates" Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s military action in Ukraine and mentioned its "close and fruitful cooperation" at the United Nations and other international organizations.

Russia and China have repeatedly blocked the U.S. and its partners’ attempts to impose fresh U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its barrage of banned ballistic missile tests.

In March, a Russian veto at the United Nations ended monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, prompting Western accusations that Moscow is seeking to avoid scrutiny as it allegedly violates the sanctions to buy weapons from Pyongyang for use in Ukraine.

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik said North Korea had already shipped about 7,000 containers filled with munitions and other military equipment to Russia. In return, Shin said that North Korea had received more than 9,000 Russian containers likely filled with aid.

Kim has also used Russia’s war in Ukraine as a distraction to dial up his weapons development as he pursues a nuclear arsenal that could viably threaten the United States and its Asian allies. This prompted the U.S. and South Korea to expand their combined military exercises and sharpen their nuclear deterrence strategies built around strategic U.S. assets.

Earlier this year, Putin sent Kim a high-end Aurus Senat limousine, which he had shown to the North Korean leader when they met for a summit in September. Observers said the shipment violated a U.N. resolution aimed at pressuring the North to give up its nuclear weapons program by banning the supply of luxury items to North Korea.