Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted an Aurus to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Feb. 20. The car comes from the luxury automaker Aurus Motors, which was founded in 2018 to manufacture Russia’s official state cars. 

US officials have grown increasingly concerned about recent relations between Russia and North Korea. Officials say that there have been other signs of this blossoming allyship with North Korea having supplied Russia with short-range ballistic missiles that were fired at Ukraine in recent weeks. 

“I hadn’t heard of this news before, but seeing as Russia and North Korea have been competitive in terms of weaponry and warfare throughout history, I’m worried about the implications this has on the future,” Dyne Kim (10), AP World History student, said. “An allyship between those powers would mean a combination between two technologically advanced countries with similar allies and enemies, which could lead to many wars.”

Indeed, there are concerns that these public displays of cordiality between the two countries could turn into a more serious alliance that would signal the decrease of Chinese influence over North Korea. If North Korea is able to use their relationship with Russia to rely less on China, Chinese influence on nuclear containment may be reduced.  

“One interesting comment that I have come across regarding North Korea’s supply of munitions to Russia in its aggressive war of conquest in Ukraine is that if North Korea was planning for  any serious short-term aggressions toward South Korea, it’s curious that North Korea would be selling such a large supply of weapons to Russia at this time,” James Kowalski, History Honor Society supervisor, said. “This suggests that North Korea’s belligerent rhetoric of late toward South Korea may be more bluster than anything else.”

Similarly, US officials believe that South Korea is safe from any threats from the alliance between Russia and North Korea due to Kim Jong Un’s statements in previous speeches supporting peace in the Korean peninsula.