Russian president visits North Korea and Vietnam to shore up alliances. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin wrapped up a two-nation Asia tour on a high. It was the first time in 24 years he’d set foot in North Korea – and left Pyongyang with a new defence pact to show for it. His two-day visit to Vietnam yielded several new trade agreements with the manufacturing hub. Putin’s latest state visits seem to be an attempt to bolster support amid increasing isolation over his war in Ukraine. But what do these countries stand to gain from closer ties with Moscow? And how is Washington reacting? Presenter: Laura Kyle Guests: Andrei Lankov – professor at Kookmin University and director of NK News, an online news source focused on North Korea Benjamin Young – assistant professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University; author of Guns, Guerrillas and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World Carlyle Thayer – professor emeritus University of New South Wales Canberra; former senior staff member at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies at the US Pacific Command Published on Friday 21 June 2024.

Beyond the headlines to the heart of the news of the day. Al Jazeera gets the Inside Story from some of the best minds in the Middle East and beyond. Al Jazeera journalists and guests dissect and discuss the day’s top story.