Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently paying a visit to one of his new best friends, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Putin arrived today for a two-day visit where the leaders will discuss expanded trade and cooperation with a particular focus on military aid and supplies that Putin requires to keep pressing his war against Ukraine. North Korea's diminutive dictator loves official state visits such as this because he still craves the recognition of the world as a legitimate national leader in his own right. This is Putin's first trip to the country in more than two decades. As mutual members of the new axis of evil, this growing relationship is bad news for the West. Putin is helping Kim advance his satellite program while Kim has been providing Russia with rockets, some of which have already been used against Ukraine. Since they both have nuclear weapons at this point, that's all the more reason to be concerned. (NBC News)

Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in North Korea on Tuesday for a two-day visit, his first in 24 years, both countries announced.

Putin is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for talks focused on expanding military cooperation as they deepen their alignment in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with Washington.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Monday that Putin will pay a state visit to the North on Tuesday and Wednesday at the invitation of Kim. North Korean state media didn’t immediately provide more details. Russia confirmed the visit in a simultaneous announcement.

These diplomatic interactions have been increasing in frequency. Keep in mind that Kim traveled to eastern Russia in September to meet with Putin. That was unusual because the North Korean tyrant is famously paranoid about people trying to assassinate him (probably for good reason) and typically only travels in a heavily armored train filled with his most trusted security personnel. By contrast, Putin has been galavanting around recently for state visits with various bad actors as if he doesn't have a care in the world.

The suspected arms deals between these two nations raise other thorny questions. There are still massive sanctions against North Korea that were approved by the United Nations. Russia is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and had previously voted in favor of those sanctions, but now Putin seems to be willing to violate them with impunity. Of course, Russia is currently under massive sanctions also as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, but they seem to be ignoring them as well.

Another interesting note from this report informs us that Putin sent Kim a high-end Aurus Senat limousine earlier this year. He had shown off the fancy vehicle during Kim's visit in September and Kim had reportedly been very envious of it. Another of the UN sanctions against the North forbids the exportation of luxury items to Kim's country. But if they're going to violate the sanctions against arms shipments, neither of them are likely to pay too much attention to that restriction either.

What's missing from this picture at least thus far is another member of the new axis of evil, specifically Iran. That country is preparing to elevate its next president at the moment after the previous leader died in a helicopter crash. Will the new Iranian president be reaching out to Kim Jong-un as well? Might he even pay a state visit? NATO's adversaries are getting particularly close with each other these days. When you add China into the mix the picture becomes even more worrisome. The Chinese are still claiming to be neutral in all of this, but their actions speak far louder than their words.