The Cyber Defense eMagazine November Edition for 2023

factors on both sides of the conflict on which the outcome of the war stands and falls, which is why North
Korean artillery shells are very important to Russia.
Kim Jong-un's tours of factories of the military-industrial complex after a recent pompous visit by the
Russian defense minister could signal North Korea's desire to become a manufacturing base for
supplying more weapons to Russia. However, this assistance will not be free, and the North Koreans will
in return demand Russian support for the acquisition and development of advanced missile and satellite
technology, the aforementioned nuclear submarine technology, as well as food aid, cheap oil and knowhow
transfers, including in the cyber domain. However, it is not yet certain whether the two sides will be
able to provide each other with the level and type of military support that will match the expectations.
New dynamics in the region?
The refurbished military relations between North Korea and Russia will resume two-way shipments of
military equipment and dual-use goods, including technology long desired by the North Korean military
but denied to it for decades by both China and Russia due to compliance with international sanctions.
These include modernization for aircraft, sophisticated missile technology, submarine technology and
other advanced weapons systems.
In addition, North Korea signaled the geopolitical importance of closer relations between China, North
Korea and Russia by hosting both Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese Communist
Party Central Committee member Li Chung-chong in late July on the 70th anniversary of the signing of
the Korean Armistice, which North Korea internally commemorates as 'Victory Day'. Also mentioned was
the possibility of North Korea joining regular Sino-Russian military exercises, which would mark another
step forward for this newly fortified coalition.
This 'coalition' of China, North Korea and Russia is still a far cry from the alliance cohesion and deep
coordination that the United States, Japan and South Korea pursue on bilateral basis, and which, in
accordance with the diplomatic breakthroughs this summer, all three states intend to expand significantly
in the face of regional threats (more on this topic in this Cyfirma research article). The emergence of
these coalitions, with conflicting interests and visions for the direction of the region, in turn exacerbates
tensions in Northeast Asia. Closer relations between North Korea and Russia partly mitigate North
Korea's political isolation, strengthen Kim Jong-un's domestic political legitimacy and give North Korea
the courage to continue developing missiles and satellites or launching cyber-attacks with impunity.
Dictators’ priorities
The summit between the two autocratic leaders presented a clear signal of a new level of strategic
cooperation based on perceptions of interrelated strategic interests and similar perceptions of security
threats. In his seminal work Cold War, leading American historian John Lewis Gaddis put Stalin's Cold
War priorities in this way:
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