On June 19, 2024, Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defense pact. In 1950, Kim Il-sung launched a surprise attack on South Korea and almost swept the peninsula before allied forces intervened. After the Korean War, North Korea used the breakdown of Sino-Soviet relations to its advantage by playing off each side against one another. North Korea will continue to provide the shells Russia needs in Ukraine and Russia will help North Korea develop its long-range missiles. China’s ambitions for Taiwan are hardly a secret but the pact between North Korea and Russia complicates those plans.