Russia has suffered multiple diplomatic and judicial blows during the past week over its war on Ukraine, despite President Vladimir Putin’s high-profile visits to North Korea and Vietnam and Moscow’s claims that it is founding a “Eurasian security architecture that will replace the discredited Euro-Atlantic security arrangements”.
Putin signed a “comprehensive strategic treaty” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 19, incorporating what he said was a defensive alliance. South Korea’s government condemned the agreement. Its national security adviser, Chang Ho-jin, declared that Seoul would reconsider lifting a ban on arms supplies directly to Ukraine. Until now, South Korea has only sold weapons to Ukraine’s allies.
