Weapons aid for Moscow?
Kremlin confirms Kim’s planned meeting with Putin
September 11, 2023, 1:30 p.m
There has been speculation for days about a possible visit by North Korea’s ruler to Russia. Now the Kremlin announces: Kim will meet with President Putin in the next few days. The talks are probably about mutual arms deliveries.
The Russian leadership has confirmed speculation about an imminent visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim will travel to Russia on an official visit “in the coming days” at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said.
The media had previously reported that Kim had traveled to the neighboring country to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There are signs that Kim left Pyongyang on a special train and is on his way to Russia, the reported South Korean news agency Yonhap citing government officials in Seoul. The encounter could take place as early as Tuesday, he wrote South Korean TV channel YTN citing government circles.
According to reports, Kim traveled in a special armored train to the northeast of his country, where North Korea shares a comparatively short border with Russia. According to the Russian news agency Interfax, Kim is expected in the Russian Far East “in the coming days.”
The “New York Times” reported last week that Kim wanted to travel to Vladivostok, Russia, with his special armored train this month. North Korea had supported Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine from the start. According to US information, the country also supplied rockets and cruise missiles.
Topic of conversation: exchange of weapons and technology
The talks between Kim and Putin are likely to involve further arms deliveries: According to the New York Times, Putin wants to buy artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from North Korea. Kim, in turn, is concerned with modern technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines as well as food aid for the population.
Kim’s visit could reportedly take place on the sidelines of an economic forum in Vladivostok scheduled for September 10-13. Vladivostok is located on Russia’s Pacific coast and is only 130 kilometers from the border with North Korea. It is around 6,500 kilometers to Moscow.
It is Kim’s first trip abroad in more than four years. He last traveled to Vladivostok in 2019 and met Putin there for their first summit after nuclear disarmament talks with then US President Donald Trump failed.
USA condemns talks about arms deliveries
The US government announced just last week that negotiations between the two countries were making progress. US Vice President Kamala Harris spoke of a big mistake. For North Korea and Russia, such an exchange of weapons and technology would mean further isolation, she said. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan threatened that North Korea would pay a price within the international community if it supplies Russia with weapons.
During the Cold War, the government in Moscow supported the communist leadership in Pyongyang. However, after the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, relations cooled due to the upheaval in Russia. Today, China is considered the country with the strongest influence on North Korea. Russia is a key ally of Kim’s country, which has been largely isolated internationally for decades. It was only in July that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea, where, among other things, he took part in a military parade. The same month, Putin praised Pyongyang’s “steadfast support of special military operations against Ukraine.”