Kim and Putin: the "invincible" partners

By Raquel López-Portillo Maltos

Any visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin should be seen as a mix of the transactional and the symbolic. His most recent trip to North Korea this week is no exception. The reception hosted by leader Kim Jong-un, looking at times like something out of a Black Mirror episode, revealed what each side has to gain, as well as some clues to the underlying intentions of the meeting. 

In this sense, the symbolic dimension has several edges. On the one hand, it is intended to send a powerful message that neither Russia nor North Korea are as isolated as the Western powers would like them to be. On the contrary, they are willing to challenge the established global order and demonstrate that alternatives to Western hegemony exist. This act of defiance is part of a kind of ideological branding, with both countries presenting themselves as bastions of resistance to Western pressure. Likewise, Putin never misses an opportunity to regain the spotlight, in this case, redirecting it towards his figure after the recent G7 meeting and the Summit for peace in Ukraine.