The Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in North Korea in the coming hours for a two-day state visit. It'll be his first trip to the country in 24 years. The visit had been announced on North Korean state television, but no further details were given. North Korean state media also published a letter from President Putin, pledging his unwavering support and promising to build trade and security systems with Pyongya. Russia's state news agency, TAS, has said that President Putin is traveling to the country on the invitation of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. The pair last met in September when Mr. Kim traveled to Russia. Well, earlier, the US expressed its concern about the deepening relationship between the two countries. Here's John Kirby.

Not just because of the impacts it's going to have on the Ukrainian people, because we know North Korean ballistic are still being used to hit Ukrainian targets, but because there could be some reciprocity here that could affect security on the Korean Peninsula. Now, we haven't seen the parameters of all that right now. Certainly haven't seen it come to fruition, but we're certainly going to be watching that very, very closely.

Okay, let's speak to Professor Paul Morekraft, who is the author and commentator on military strategy, security, and intelligence issues in Russia and North Korea. Hello, and welcome to the program. We just heard the National Security Spokesman, John Kirby, there talking about watching events very closely. What exactly is the US and South Korea going to be paying attention to?

There are two aspects to this visit. One is largely symbolic, and one is very practical weapons. So the symbolic aspect is that these are the two most isolated countries in the world in terms of sanctions. President Putin is a very proud man. He was left out to the peace conference in Poland, the G7. He regards himself as a leader of a major European state, but he's become isolated. Remember, he can't travel to many places. He's indicted as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court, so he can visit North Korea in safety. That's what he's doing. He's there to show Russia is still a big player on the stage. That is the symbolic part, and it's two fingers to the Americans, two fingers to the UN. He's there to show, and Kim Jong Unmaid President Kim, he's very isolated. They both need things, and that is weapons, besides the symbolism is weapons. Russia has been fighting a long war, as we know. Remember, Russia created hated the North Korean state and its arsenal. Most of the weapons are compatible in terms of artillery, small arms, mortars. The North Koreans have a massive arsenal, and so did the South Koreans, by the way.

It's full of American arms. Putin's there to get some weapons for his war in Ukraine, which is exhausting his supply.

Sorry, Professor, just very quickly. So we know what President Putin wants. What's in it for Kim?

Well, besides the symbolic aspects which I've emphasized, Kim has a problem with his satellite technology. Although he's providing ballistic missiles and so on, more advanced weapons, particularly if they fail to launch satellites, they're trying also to create submarine launch ballistic with nuclear heads on them. They want Russian advice on that. But also they want food. They want foreign currency. The country, the zombie economy, is starving. So the North Koreans want food, technology, and as I said, the symbolism of these two guys and the expression, which I think you used, the lonely bromance. These guys can help each other, restore faith in each other and in their international position. It should be a win-win. Will it worry the West? Yes, there's going to be more intense fighting and weapons. Of course, the reason why North Korea is sanctioned is because it's developing nuclear weapons which can reach America. So the Americans are concerned. Will this intensify the war in the Korean peninsula? Do we need another area of hostility on top of the war in Europe and the Middle East? So these two guys will be a lot of ceremony, flamboyance. They'll be a lot of...

These guys are both dictators with a flair for military showmanship. It'll be a lot of symbolism, and there'll be practical benefits to both leaders who have been isolated. Also because it's a sidebar, President Kim doesn't like flying He only goes to contiguous countries, that is, next to him, China and Russia. So fly anywhere or go in his arm and train. These two guys can meet up. It's a year since they met, and they want to bolster their position. Should we be worried? As I said, maybe. There's no immediate threat to the West. There is an immediate threat to Ukraine.

Okay, Professor Paul Morekraft. Thank you very much for that. Thank you. Well, our correspondent in Seoul is Shaima Khalil, who is following the story for us. Hello there to you, Shaima. It's been described as a friendly state visit. It's taken 24 years for a friend to visit their mutual friend's home.

That's right. But expect to hear that phrase, the lonely bromance, quite a bit today and tomorrow, as the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, makes his way to North Korea for the first time in 24 years. I think that is the first part of this significance, the fact that he hasn't done so for very long. We were just watching a TV news programs here in Seoul, showing archive footage of a much, much younger Vladimir Putin, who visited here, visited Kim Jong Un's father in the year 2000. It's significant because of how long it's taken him to do so. It is significant because of the direction. For the first two summits, it was Kim Jong Un on his way, making his way to Russia to meet the Russian President. Now, it's Vladimir Putin making that visit, essentially responding to Kim Jong Un's invite the last time he was in Russia to come and visit Pyongya, and this is happening now. I think also it is very significant because of the timing of it, because of the fact that Vladimir Putin, yet again, is deeply isolated, is essentially desperate for munitions for his continuing war in Ukraine. I think the optics of this are going to show that.

They're going to show two strong men with weakening economies, further isolated global standards running. If you look, for example, at the letter that he wrote today, Vladimir Putin, ahead of his visit that ran on North Korean state media, he talked about a developing alternative mechanisms of trade cooperation, including security, not controlled by the West, jointly resisting illegitimate unilateral restrictions. The translation of that, we're together against the United States and its regional allies, but also the fact that we're both struggling with sanctions, but each leader has something the other wants. South other wants. North Korea needs technology, needs military technology, especially satellite technology after it failed to launch its spy satellite into orbit in late May. Russia needs the munition that North that North Korea can provide and has provided, which is something both Ukraine's military and the United States have continued to assert, even though both sides, Moscow and Pyongya have denied.