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Today with Claire Byrne on RTE

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Radio 1, sponsored by Cash &

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Carrie Kitchens, at the heart of

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Irish homes for over 40 years.

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CashandCaricitchens.ie Now the Russian

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President Vladimir Putin received a red carpet

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welcome in the North Korean capital Pyongyang.

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It's Mr Putin's first visit to the

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country since the year 2000, although in

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a sign of deepening

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ties with North Korea's Kim

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Yong-on, the two men also met

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in Vladivostok last year. The

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US and South Korea both claim

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that North Korean weapons have been

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used on the front line in

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Ukraine. Well, for his analysis, I'm

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joined by former British Ambassador to

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both North Korea and Belarus, John

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Everard. Good morning, John. Good morning,

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Claire. We have this statement from

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both leaders in the last little

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while, the North Korean leader, saying

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that relations between North Korea and

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Russia had risen to a new

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high level of alliance and

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then Vladimir Putin saying that this

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new strategic partnership packed signed by

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the two men marked a significant

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and historic moment in the country's

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relations. So what is the message

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that they are sending to us

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today? Firstly, notice

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that the Russians didn't use the word

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alliance. They didn't endorse what the North

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Koreans are trying to claim. The North

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Koreans are desperate for formal allies, people

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who will commit to intervening if they

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get into trouble. The Russians are standing

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back from that. But while we're talking

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messages, Claire, I think the big message

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is the one that came out yesterday

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published jointly in the Russian and the

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North Korean media, where there is a

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joint statement by the two leaders rejecting

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the rules-based international order, saying

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this is just a bid for

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US supremacy and it's based

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on hypocrisy anyway. Now, this is

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strong stuff. This is Russia

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saying not just we don't like the way

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things are, but that we believe the whole

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system is rotten. The United Nations, the World

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Bank, the International Court of Justice, all the

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things we built since the Cold War, all

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rubbish. We rip them up. We

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start again. We're going back to the 18th

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century, effectively, this naked power politics. This

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is pretty bad. But

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also, guys, the point here, there's

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no notice. If you're going to

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make a statement like that, just

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putting out a very strong anti-Western,

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anti-rules-based system position, then

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you get around you, all the people

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you can. Okay, so Putin has got

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the North Koreans on board, but notice

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the silence from both Beijing and Tehran.

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Just deter them alone. The Chinese and the Iranians

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have stood back. They don't like this at all.

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Why? Because

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Tehran really doesn't want to stir things.

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It's got quite enough on its plate

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right now without its major friends going

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around saying they want to rip up

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the rules-based order. Beijing has

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been very clear. It doesn't mind a rules-based order

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at all. In fact, it rather likes it. It

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just thinks the rules should be changed. And I

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suspect that Xi Jinping is a gust to what

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Putin is doing. And just

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looking at where this leaves South

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Korea now, this pact that the

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two men have signed, these visits

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now coming a year apart,

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that will serve to further

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deter South Korea from any

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attempt to help Ukraine from

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a weapons perspective. It

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works both ways. I mean, yes, you're right.

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South Korea is treading very carefully. On

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the other hand, Putin knows that

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if South Korea decides is going

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to arm Ukraine, that's a game

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changer. South Korea has one of

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the biggest and most modern arms

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industries anywhere in the world. So

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far, the South Koreans have held

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back probably because the Russians have

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said that if they do arm

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Ukraine, then Russia will help North

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Korea more. But if as

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a result of this visit, Russia

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crosses any South Korean red lines and

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South Korea starts to send high tech

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weaponry to Ukraine, I suspect that Vladimir

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Putin is going to rather regret his

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bromance with Kim. wrong one. I

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mean it is interesting, I mean

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it does show us how desperate

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Vladimir Putin is for international alliances

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in that he is bodying up to

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North Korea seen as something of a

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pariah state in international circles. Is that

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something that he will will be front

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of mind with him at all? Yes,

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frankly if the first

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place you visit after your electoral

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victory quote-unquote is North Korea, you

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have a problem. North Korea and

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to make the point that this is still

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Vladimir Putin's show, notice he turned

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up very late, made Kim Jong-un

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get out of bed and come and greet

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him at the airport at three o'clock in

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the morning. That was calculated rudeness and that

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was Putin saying I call the shots here,

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if I say jump you say how high.

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It probably hasn't gone down very well in Pyongyang. And

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he does that regularly doesn't he? Depending on his

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level of respect for the person that he's meeting

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he's either a little early or

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a little late or very late. Yes,

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that's right. Putin nauseates these things

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very carefully to send messages. While

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we're talking about South Korea Claire,

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notice that the Chinese have got

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a very senior delegation in Seoul

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in South Korea right now talking

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to the South Koreans about improving

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relations between South Korea and China.

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Beijing is signaling very clearly to North Korea,

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you go messing around with the Russians, fine,

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you're entitled to do so but we have

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other options and don't you forget it. And

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Putin, I just see here on

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the wires, is saying that he's

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not ruling out military technical cooperation

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with North Korea. Again, that is

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sending out signals isn't it and

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threatening something in order to get

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the attention of the West. Yes,

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the attention of the West and probably attention

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of South Korea too. Putin has a long

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track record of rather vague promises on which

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he never follows up. He just likes to

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creep people's flesh. Whether there's

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anything behind this latest statement, well we hope not,

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we'll just have to wait and see. No. I

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see the North Koreans are saying that

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relations have been raised to the level

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of alliance, but you made the very

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important point that Russia is not saying

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that. No, that's

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right. Formally, there was a

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point when Russia and North Korea were

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formal allies, so with the commitment to

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go to each other's aid if one

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or the other were attacked. That

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was abrogated in, I think it was

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1992, and it's never been reapplied. I'm

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sure that Kim Jong-un would very much

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like that alliance to be rekindled, but

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it doesn't sound like Vladimir Putin is

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playing ball. And just explain to us

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what the resistance is there from the

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Russian side. Well,

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would you want to be allied with North Korea?

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The place is unstable. And if North Korea finds

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itself in a fight of any kind with South

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Korea, then you find yourself obliged to attack South

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Korea. Do you really want to do that, especially

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to a fighting war in Ukraine at the same

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time? South Korea is a

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very, very heavily armed country, very high-tech,

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and be a formidable foe. Russia doesn't

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up for that. Okay,

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John, we'll leave it there for now, but thank

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you very much for joining us. John Everard there,

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former British ambassador to Belarus and

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North Korea. Coming up next, should

7:12

XL Bully Dogs be banned?