Kim and Putin: Cosy comrades

Budding bromance: After much speculation, Kim (left) and Putin finally met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, in the far eastern Amur region of Russia. — North Korean government/KCNA/AP

STRENGTHENING ties between Russia and North Korea will escalate bloc confrontation in northeast Asia, say experts.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia – his first international trip since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020 – is widely expected to see the two Cold War allies bolstering defence and economic cooperation amid sanctions by the West.