06-20-2024, 02:16 PM
pdq wrote:
The more I think about this, the more I can’t avoid feeling that this shows a (surprising!) level of desperation on Putin’s part.
North Korea is really the bottom of the barrel. That Putin would suggest he needs Kim to deal with his little Ukraine problem?
I dunno, that’s reminiscent of step one of a 12-step recovery. Like I said, hitting bottom.
I actually think it is rather brilliant on Putin's part, not so much so on Kim's.
No one is going to attack NK unprovoked. So if NK attacks SK, Russia is not obligated to assist them. However, if NATO comes to the aide of Ukraine and attacks in an area that Russia claims, then NK can use it as an excuse to go after allies of the attacking country (which would include SK and Japan). What that means is that the US must be ready for war on the Korean Peninsula if it gets involved in Ukraine. That fact will give pause to the US as NK is a loose cannon and would be crazy enough to employ nukes unilaterally.
It would be the end of NK, but could also cripple both SK and Japan. That would have a devastating economic impact on the West.
So in short, Putin has a major deterrent to the west while giving virtually nothing in return.