North Korean leader Kim Jong Un peered into the cockpit of a state-of-the-art Russian fighter jet as he visited an aircraft factory on Friday on a long and rare foreign trip that has raised concerns over a banned arms transfer deal between the increasingly isolated nations.
Since entering Russia on his armored train on Tuesday, Kim has met President Vladimir Putin and visited weapons and technology sites, underscoring the deepening ties between countries locked in separate confrontations with the West.
Foreign governments and experts speculate Kim might supply ammunition to Russia for its war effort in Ukraine in exchange for receiving weapons or advanced technology from Russia.
Earlier on Friday, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti released a video showing Kim’s train entering a station in the far eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Kim’s convoy sweeping out of the station shortly after.
Later, the governor of the region posted on social media a photo showing Kim at an aircraft factory, looking at the Su-57, Russia’s most advanced fighter jet, and shaking hands with a pilot.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with workers during a tour of a Russian aircraft factory that builds fighter jets in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, about 3,900 miles east of Moscow, Russia.AP
Kim at an aircraft factory, looking at the Su-57, Russia’s most advanced fighter jet on September 15, 2023. via REUTERS
One photo shows a demonstration flight of the Su-35, another Russian fighter jet produced at the plant.
The governor, Mikhail Degtyarev, said Kim’s late father, Kim Jong Il, also visited the factory in 2002.
“Our father and grandfather together fought the Japanese military, our country supported North Korea in its struggle against US imperial ambitions in the 1950s and now we are together against Western pressure,” he said.
“I am confident that our country will continue to uphold the ideals of freedom and a multi-polar world through our joint efforts.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un attend a meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on September 13, 2023. via REUTERS
Besides Degtyarev, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov accompanied Kim to the factory. According to a Russian Cabinet statement, Kim visited the facility that manufactures the Sukhoi SJ-100 passenger plane as well.
“We have shown one of our leading aircraft factories to the (North Korean) leader,” Manturov said in the statement.
“We see the potential for cooperation in aircraft manufacturing and other industries, which are very important to complete our country’s task of achieving technological sovereignty.”
Kim will travel next to Vladivostok to see Russia’s Pacific fleet, universities and other facilities, Putin told Russian media after he met with Kim.
Experts say in return for helping Putin increase war supplies, Kim will seek Russian help to modernize his air force and navy, which are inferior to rival South Korea while Kim has devoted many of his own resources to his nuclear weapons program.
The summit between Kim and Putin on Wednesday took place at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s most important domestic launch center. North Korea has struggled to put operational spy satellites into space to monitor US and South Korean military movements.
Asked whether Russia and North Korea could cooperate in space research, Putin said: “That’s why we came here. (Kim) showed a deep interest in rocket technology. They are trying to develop space as well.”
Kim Jong Un listens to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov (center left) during a visit to a Russian aircraft factory that builds fighter jets in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia.AP
Putin, for his part, wants to receive ammunition, artillery shells and even ballistic missiles from North Korea to replenish his depleted weapons inventory in the second year of Russia’s war in Ukraine, foreign experts say.
Since last year, the US has accused North Korea of supplying Russia with ammunition, cannonballs and rockets, possibly mostly copies of Soviet-era munitions.
South Korean officials say North Korean weapons given to Russia have already been used in Ukraine.
Kim Jong Un and Putin visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Amur region on September 14, 2023. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
On Thursday evening, the national security advisers of the US, South Korea and Japan spoke by phone and expressed “serious concern” about a potential arms deal between Russia and North Korea.
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They warned Russia and North Korea would “pay a clear price” if they went ahead with such a deal, according to South Korea’s presidential office.
The White House said three national security advisers stated that any arms exports from North Korea to Russia would directly violate several UN Security Council resolutions, including one that Russia, a permanent member of the UN council, itself voted to adopt.
They reiterated their cooperation toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as well, according to a White House statement.
South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho warned on Thursday that a potential arms transfer between the North and Russia would invite a stronger response from South Korea, the US and Japan, which have stepped up their trilateral security cooperation to counter regional threats.
Some analysts question the extent to which Russia is willing to share tightly controlled high-tech weapons technology with North Korea in return for its conventional weapons.
Governor of Russia’s Khabarovsk Region Mikhail Degtyarev attends a welcoming ceremony for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s Khabarovsk region, September 15, 2023. via REUTERS
But others say Russia will do so because of its urgent need to replenish its depleted reserves.
Putin told reporters that Russia and North Korea have “many interesting projects” in areas such as transport and agriculture and that Moscow provides humanitarian aid to its neighbour.
But he avoided talking about military cooperation, saying only that Russia abides by sanctions that prohibit obtaining weapons from North Korea.
North Korean state media said Thursday that Kim invited Putin to visit North Korea at an “appropriate time.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Putin had accepted the invitation and that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was expected to visit North Korea in October.
During Wednesday’s summit, Kim pledged “full and unconditional support” for Putin in what he described as “only fighting against hegemonic powers to defend his sovereign rights, security and interests,” in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine.
Information about Kim’s visit to Russia is largely from the official media of both countries. North Korean media did not provide an update on Kim’s activities on Friday. They usually report on Kim’s activities a day later, apparently to satisfy North Korean propaganda’s need to glorify Kim.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
