The alarming Kim and Putin show

Vladimir Putin’s visit to Kim Jong Un in North Korea threatens potentially tragic consequences for global hotspots. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. Kim Jong Un is pulling out all the stops for Vladimir Putin’s first visit to North Korea in 24 years, greeting him personally at the airport and staging lavish displays of public adoration for the Russian president on the streets of Pyongyang. For all the cheesy echoes of a 1950s Stalin-era personality cult, their meeting today presents [a very modern security challenge]( to the US and its allies. Kim pledged to “unconditionally” support Putin’s war on Ukraine, lining up North Korea’s vast arsenal of weapons to aid Russia’s military. US and South Korean intelligence estimate millions of artillery shells [may already have flowed]( to Moscow after Kim visited Russia in September. The support is vital for Putin as his army confronts Ukrainian forces that are starting to take delivery of billions of dollars of new weapons from the US and Europe after being starved of arms for months. Kim has his own interest in closer ties, with Russia potentially able to supply technology to aid North Korea’s program of spy satellites. That’s as tensions between Pyongyang and South Korea are surging, including clashes involving troops along their heavily fortified border. It all adds to an impression of authoritarian states pulling together to challenge the democratic world in a way unseen for decades. China, Pyongyang’s main political patron, is bolstering economic relations with Russia that are helping Putin ease the pressure of sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine. Tensions between Beijing and the US and its regional allies in Asia are mounting, too. Putin continues to nurture ties with Iran, whose proxy groups are engaged in conflict against US allies across the Middle East. It’s easy to satirize the comic political theater of Putin in North Korea. But his visit to Kim threatens [potentially tragic consequences]( for global hotspots.— [Anthony Halpin]( The motorcades of Kim and Putin in Pyongyang today. Photographer: Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images Global Must Reads The White House denied claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the [US is withholding weapons]( during its war against Hamas in Gaza. A prominent Senate Democrat criticized the [decision to invite Netanyahu]( to address Congress in Washington, saying it risks signaling endorsement of his military strategy when it should be using leverage to demand more protections for Palestinian civilians. Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayers in southern Gaza on Sunday. Photographer: Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg Jordan Bardella said he won’t take up the post of French prime minister unless his far-right National Rally [scores a resounding win]( in parliamentary elections. Polls show Marine Le Pen’s party is likely to be [the biggest group]( in the National Assembly after two rounds of voting starting June 30, but Bardella is pushing for an outright majority that would give him the power to “change the daily lives of French people.” The latest comprehensive UK poll makes for uncomfortable reading for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with a seat-by-seat analysis [pointing to an electoral wipe out]( for the Conservatives on July 4. The Ipsos projection suggests the Tories will lose more than two-thirds of the districts they won at the last general election, with the opposition Labour Party set to win a record majority. Cyril Ramaphosa is being sworn in today for a new term as president of South Africa after a power-sharing alliance of parties agreed to back him. The focus will next shift to bargaining between his African National Congress and its biggest electoral rival, the Democratic Alliance, over cabinet posts and the new government’s [commitment to economic reform](. Philippine officials accused the Chinese Coast Guard of destroying rubber boats that were part of a resupply mission on Monday to a military outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal, one of the [most serious clashes](between the two countries in the disputed and resource-rich South China Sea. Beijing said it took “control measures” against the vessels and that its action was lawful. Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, meanwhile, has quit President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cabinet, in the [strongest sign yet of fractures]( within the ruling coalition. Taiwan is bracing for more street protests as lawmakers kicked off another round of debate over a controversial bill that critics say is aimed [at reining in the new president](, Lai Ching-te. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida defied calls for a general election in the [first party-leaders’ debate]( since he took office, which came as his support hits record lows. Ecuador temporarily stopped a visa agreement with China, citing “a worrying [increase in migratory flows]( from” the Asian nation in recent months. Washington Dispatch Joe Biden enlisted ex-President Bill Clinton and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to headline an event in Virginia yesterday as part of [a furious fundraising push]( to counter a flood of donations to Republican presidential contender Donald Trump ahead of the November election. It came just days after a high-powered Hollywood fundraiser with former President Barack Obama, late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel, and celebrities including George Clooney and Julia Roberts in Los Angeles. Trump beat Biden in fundraising for the first time in this electoral cycle in April, and announced that he had added $141 million to his war chest in May. One thing to watch today: The US is observing [Juneteenth](, a celebration of Black history that Congress designated as a federal holiday in 2021. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day France and Italy were [reprimanded by the European Union]( for running big deficits, the first stage in a confrontation that could prompt billions of euros in fines. The announcement today by the European Commission is all the more consequential with French legislative elections looming. The snap ballot [called by President Emmanuel Macron]( has rattled investors due to the prospect that a winner from either the far-right or the left will only [further bloat public finances](. And Finally Wildfires in Canada burned continuously for over a year. Floods brought Dubai to a standstill. Deadly heat blanketed the streets of New Delhi. The first half of 2024 has [laid bare the catastrophic extremes]( that now characterize the rapidly changing climate on every continent. Scientists warn that the danger ahead isn’t just from supercharged weather catastrophes. A warmer planet increases the chances of “compound events,” where multiple disasters — natural and manmade — occur at the same time or place, exacerbating their combined impact. Vehicles abandoned in flood water on a highway in Dubai in April. 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