By backing Russia in Donbas, Kim Jong Un trades self-reliance for puppetry

Opinion

By backing Russia in Donbas, Kim Jong Un trades self-reliance for puppetry

Recognizing pseudo-states marks radical shift for North Korea, but cuddling up to Moscow could make peninsula safer

Aidan Foster-Carter August 18, 2022

By backing Russia in Donbas, Kim Jong Un trades self-reliance for puppetry

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un | Image: Rodong Sinmun (Jan. 13, 2022)

The following article is an opinion piece by Aidan Foster-Carter, an honorary senior research fellow in sociology and modern Korea at Leeds University in England. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

About the Author

Aidan Foster-Carter

Aidan Foster-Carter is Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology and Modern Korea at Leeds University in England. Educated at Eton and Oxford, he taught sociology at the Universities of Hull, Dar es Salaam and Leeds from 1971 to 1997. Having followed Korean affairs since 1968, since 1997 he has been a full-time analyst and consultant on Korea: writing, lecturing and broadcasting for academic, business and policy audiences in the UK and worldwide.

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