Russia plans to hold a joint naval exercise with North Korea

It is going to be the first time that these countries perform naval maneuvers. In fact, it is unusual for North Korea to stage joint military exercises with other nations at all. Though the USA an S.Korea have a tradition  of practising the usage of their forces in this region.  The decision to stage the unprecedented exercise was reached during a late August meeting of N.Korean and Russian leaders. At this very moment no information about the scale and exact date of the exercise is disclosed.

The officials only mentioned that the forthcoming exercise is to take place next year. It is planned to be a simulation of different ‘search and rescue’ scenarios. No doubt that such an event worries S. Korean and American politicians, but I see a clear reason for them to be troubled. The balance of powers in the region is rather vague. Panetta pointed out recently that he is planning to strengthen military ties with Australia. If it is his intention then the Russians need to fortify their positions in East Asia.