North Korea Needs China and Russia – But Doesn’t Want Its People Admiring Them

Citizens of North Korea waving at President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s motorcade as it passes by them in Pyongyang during Putin’s state visit to North Korea, June 19, 2024. Even China and Russia – partners with whom North Korea is deepening strategic cooperation – are no exception. North Korea’s relationship with Russia has effectively reached the level of a military alliance – yet treating Russian technology as superior to North Korea’s own has become a political liability. What North Koreans Need May Not Simply Be More InformationThis reality poses an important challenge for efforts aimed at changing North Koreans’ consciousness. North Korea accepts Chinese and Russian technology and resources, even as it tries to stop people from measuring North Korea against the realities of those two countries.