Russia and Two Korean States

Russia’s policy towards the Korean Peninsula is clearly divided into two broad yet interconnected areas. The first is Moscow’s relations with each of the Korean states—the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). The second is Russia’s position on regional security, which, in turn, is determined primarily by the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula and the prospects for its settlement. The chapter assesses Russia’s relations with both North and South Korea up until 2022 and locates the logic of these relations in the context of regional security issues.