Jan. 16 (UPI) -- The author requests that north Korea be styled with a lowercase "n" in this story. The two letters exchanged between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin at the start of 2026 are not New Year's greetings. They are not diplomatic pleasantries. They are, in effect, a formal declaration of a war alliance and a decisive document revealing where the current world order is heading. Related The 'Land Reclamation Storm Brigade' and its failures The Republic of Korea-China summit and Xi