
September 15, 2023
The New Authoritarian Axis: Russian Relations with North Korea and Iran
This past Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to the Russian Far East for a summit with Vladimir Putin. After more than four hours of talks, Kim vowed to provide “full and unconditional support” to Russia, a clear indication of just how closely aligned Russian and North Korean interests have become. This deepening partnership between Russia and North Korea is part of a larger trend that has seen the emergence of a broad axis of authoritarian countries bound through opposition to the United States and its allies. To assess the significance of Russia’s increasingly close relationships with Pyongyang and Tehran for U.S. national security, Hanna Notte and Markus Garlauskas join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend on this episode of Brussels Sprouts.
Hanna Notte is the Director for Eurasia at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies as well as a Senior Associate in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.
Markus Garlauskas is the director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He previously served in the US government for nearly twenty years, including as National Intelligence Officer for North Korea.
More from CNAS
-
Ex-NATO Official: Putin Is ‘Stringing Along Trump’ to Push for Sanctions Relief
Jim Townsend, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, weighs in on peace talks after the Putin-Zelenskyy-Trump call and whether the U.S. is failing...
By Jim Townsend
-
What Ukraine and Russia are Negotiating in Turkey
Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul this week – the first since March 2022 – have got off to a shaky start. Putin’s no-show meant President Zelenskyy remained ...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Putin Desperate to Maintain Fractured Relationship with Trump | Jim Townsend
Trump could push Putin further to "get on board" with a 30 day ceasefire as Russia grow more keen grow a relationship with the US, says Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for...
By Jim Townsend
-
Ukraine Negotiates for Its Future
There’s been a flurry of activity on the Ukraine front this week. Over the weekend, Donald Trump briefly met with Zelensky in Rome during ceremonies for Pope Francis’ funeral....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend