Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Russian Security Council meeting on January 19, 2018. Mikhail Klimentyev | TASS | Getty Images

President Donald Trump made major news last week when he accused Russia of helping North Korea evade international sanctions. Reports that Russian tankers helped deliver fuel to the pariah state underscore that contention, but that occurrence alone doesn't explain why the Kremlin would actively undermine the international community. The reason, experts told CNBC, could be that Russian President Vladimir Putin is working several angles, including sowing chaos to distract the U.S. and creating an opening for Moscow to burnish its reputation. For its part, Russia's foreign ministry has formally denied any participation in helping Pyongyang skirt sanctions. Still, foreign policy specialists said the Kremlin stands to benefit from tensions surrounding North Korea.

Putin's gamble

By enabling Kim Jong Un's international belligerence, Russia could alleviate some of the international scrutiny on Moscow's own activities, analysts said. The country is currently still facing sanctions from the international community over its activities in Georgia and Ukraine. "Putin has his own interest in helping North Korea," said Gustav Gressel, a senior policy fellow at the Wider Europe Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "Moscow's interference also serves as a diversion to take the focus away from the country's own activities in Europe."

Experts also said the Kremlin's goal is to split the U.S.'s attentions and military capabilities between different theaters — stretching Washington's budget in the process. A study out of Brown University reported that the U.S. has spent $5.6 trillion on war and conflicts since 2001.

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