Putin’s North Korea summit was pure theatre

If a little tyrant theatre is your goal, then rumbling across the border in an armoured train decked out like a palace (if your palace was decorated in the 1970s) is hard to beat. As North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin met at the Vostochny spaceport, the Bond villain vibes were strong – and one might suspect that was the point. 

As of writing, we don’t yet know the precise terms of whatever deal has been thrashed out. Even though his factories are running 24/7, Putin clearly wants more munitions for his war in Ukraine. North Korea’s are reportedly of stunningly poor quality, but something is better than nothing, and at least they are built to Russian calibres. Claims that Putin is also angling for North Korean troops are hard to credit, but there might be room for labourers working on reconstruction projects in the occupied territories. 

Kim’s shopping list is rather more lengthy and varied.