As Russia continues to butt heads with other countries across the globe, it seems there's one place it wants to strengthen its relationship with.
Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, Vladimir Putin has faced backlash from world leaders like Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as President Donald Trump who he was once somewhat close with.
There have been many, many calls for Russia to end the war in Ukraine which has been going on for more than three years. However, it is yet to be resolved.
Trump had given Putin a deadline of September 2 to stop issuing strikes on Ukraine, but the POTUS has now threatened to bring this forward almost a month and have the war end by August 9. Putin is yet to react to the news.
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As the Russian leader's relationship with Trump weakens, one alliance Putin appears to be looking to strengthen is with North Korea - one of his few remaining allies.
Last year, the North Korea-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty was signed into law by Putin, which had been signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June 2024.
Over a year on from doing so and Russia has reopened direct flights from Moscow to Pyongyang for the first time in decades. Initially, the flights will only be once a month, The Guardian reports.
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The first flight, which was operated by Russian carrier Nordwind, took off from the Russian capital yesterday (July 27) and arrived in Pyongyang around eight hours later.
According to Euro News, 400 passengers were on the plane and tickets cost 45,000 rubles (approximately $553).
The decision to reopen the flight comes after Kim Jong Un announced that North Korea was opening its first ever beach resort as he actively tries to boost the country's tourism.
The resort is called Wonsan Kalma and is around 220km away from Pyongyang.
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While Putin is very much occupied with his attempts to take over Ukraine, there's suspicions that he may be looking to invade another country as well.
US intelligence expert Rebekah Koffler says that Putin could have his eyes on Moldova.
"As a military intelligence analyst specialising in Putin’s thinking and Russian military strategy, I agree with Rutte’s assessment about Russia’s readiness for another offensive military campaign in just a few years," Koffler wrote for The Telegraph.
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"I’m less convinced that a NATO country is likely to be the Kremlin’s next target, unless the alliance directly intervenes in Ukraine by deploying troops onto the battlefield.
"Nevertheless, what NATO does or doesn’t do in the next few years could be highly significant in determining whether Putin decides to attack another post-Soviet state - such as Moldova."
Topics: Russia, North Korea, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, World News, Travel
Niamh Shackleton