SUBSCRIBER+REPORTING — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a rare trip out of the hermit country last month, to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and pledge his full support. The topic of discussion? Increased military collaboration between the two outlier nations and what Pyongyang can do to bolster Moscow’s depleted weapons arsenal, as its war in Ukraine grinds on.
The highly anticipated expedition marked Kim’s first summit since North Korea shuttered its borders at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, and marked the second time the two chieftains have met face-to-face.
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62
Access all of The Cipher Brief‘s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+Member.