Talks expected to cover weapons deals between Russia and North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crossed into Russia on Tuesday to meet President Vladimir Putin, with talks expected to focus on weapon sales.
Experts suggest Mr Putin is seeking artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from North Korea for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Mr Kim, who travelled to Russia by armoured train accompanied by top arms industry and military officials, is reportedly in search of advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as food aid for his impoverished nation.
Discussions could also include humanitarian aid to North Korea and the UN Security Council resolutions imposed against Pyongyang, Russian officials said.
He is set to meet Mr Putin at an unspecified location in Russia’s Far East region later this week, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“It will be a full-fledged visit,” Mr Peskov said.
“There will be negotiations between two delegations, and after that, if necessary, the leaders will continue their communication in a one-on-one format.”
He “left here by his train on Sunday afternoon to visit the Russian Federation” and was accompanied by senior figures in the Communist Party, the government and military agencies, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
KCNA did not report on the location of Mr Kim’s train on Tuesday, and whether it had crossed the Russian border. But a source told Reuters early on Tuesday he had crossed the border into Russia.
On Monday, the agency had reported that “the respected Comrade Kim Jong-un will meet and have a talk with Comrade Putin during the visit”.
Washington and its allies have expressed concern at recent signs of closer military cooperation between Russia and the nuclear-armed North.
It will be Mr Kim’s second summit with Putin, after they met in 2019 on his last trip abroad.
Mr Peskov said Russia’s national interests would dictate its policies.
“As you know, while implementing our relations with our neighbours, including North Korea, the interests of our two countries are important to us, and not warnings from Washington,” Mr Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian media.
Washington derided the coming summit as a sign that Mr Putin was “begging” for help with his floundering invasion of Ukraine.
The confirmation from North Korea ends days of speculation after US and other officials said recently that Mr Kim, who rarely leaves North Korea, was likely to head to Vladivostok for arms talks with Mr Putin.
Mr Kim has not travelled outside the North since the start of the corona virus pandemic.
The makeup of Kim’s delegation including top defense industry and military affairs, with the notable presence of Munitions Industry Department Director Jo Chun Ryong, suggests an agenda heavy on defense industry cooperation, analysts said.
“The presence of Jo Chun Ryong indicates that North Korea and Russia will conclude some type of agreement for munitions purchases,” said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Washington-based Stimson Center.
Kim could offer artillery rounds from its large stockpile, which could replenish Russia’s capabilities in the short term, but questions about the ammunition’s quality may limit the overall impact, military analysts said.
Mr Kim has been steadfast in his support for Moscow’s Ukraine invasion, including, Washington says, supplying rockets and missiles.
The White House recently warned that Pyongyang would “pay a price” if it supplies Moscow with weaponry for its war in Ukraine.
On Monday, the US described Mr Putin as desperate in seeking a meeting with Mr Kim.
“Having to travel across the length of his own country to meet an international pariah to ask for assistance in a war that he expected to win in the opening month, I would characterize it as him begging for assistance,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“President Putin launched this war against Ukraine, with its full-scale aggression, with a dream of restoring the glory of the Russian Empire. That hope, that expectation of his, has failed.”
Mr Miller renewed US warnings that a Moscow weapons deal with Pyongyang could lead to more sanctions.
Moscow, a historical ally of Pyongyang, was a crucial backer of the isolated country for decades and their ties go back to the founding of North Korea 75 years ago.
Mr Kim is well-known for his preference for train travel on international trips, and his father and predecessor, Kim Jong-il, was famously scared of flying.
In 2019, the current leader made the 60-hour return train trip from Hanoi to Pyongyang by train after a summit with then-US president Donald Trump collapsed.
Foreign trips
The North Korean leader did not leave his country for six years after taking power in 2011.
Then, in 2018 he embarked on a 15-month international travel spree, heading to China, Russia, Vietnam and Singapore to meet world leaders, including then-US president Donald Trump, in a bout of ill-fated diplomatic engagement.
Talks collapsed and then the corona virus pandemic hit, so Mr Kim stopped travelling entirely, sealing off his country’s borders for three years with even North Korean nationals not allowed to return.
Source: The National
