Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was at least out of harms way last week, when he visited Pyongyang to admire Kim Jong Un’s weaponary at the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War Ceasefire parades.

He commented jovially that the North Koreans had the best armour in the world.   He will need it if he again angers Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin who was after his head when he turned his forces toward Moscow.  North Korea has a huge stockpile of old Soviet era tanks guns and ammo, which it calculates it will no longer need as it has a large nuclear arsenal.

Image: Image Shutterstock – Jack Hoyes

Produced By: Roderick Chambers

Featured In Story: Dr Leonid Petrov Visiting Fellow, School of Culture, History and Language at the Australian National University

First aired on The Wire, Tuesday 1 August 2023