North Korean combatants are reportedly aiding Russia in recent days and weeks in its war against Ukraine in what one Northeastern international relations scholar calls “a serious development.” And it’s one coming on the heels of a potentially dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy in Europe. “It’s definitely an escalation of the war,” says Mai’a Cross, dean’s professor of political science, international affairs and diplomacy, and director of the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures at Northeastern University.
Five months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s supreme leader, revived a Cold War-era treaty described as a “defense pledge” in which either nation would come to the aid of the other in the event of “aggression” from a neighbor, according to the New York Times.
