North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia, sources told Reuters on Tuesday, for what the Kremlin says will be comprehensive talks with President Vladimir Putin amid warnings from Washington that they should not agree to an arms deal.
Kim left Pyongyang for Russia on Sunday aboard his private train, the North’s state media reported on Tuesday, accompanied by top arms industry and military officials.
Russian sources with knowledge of the trip told Reuters Kim arrived in Russia on Tuesday morning, leaving his train to meet local officials in Khasan, the main rail gateway to the Russian Far East, before continuing on.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing pose for a photo before their talks outside the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on Sept. 12, 2023. AP
Kim’s arrival was also reported on Tuesday by Russian state television Rossiya 1, which showed a train said to be carrying the North Korean leader – with his signature olive green paint scheme – crossing a bridge.
Kim does not travel abroad often, making only seven trips from his country and twice crossing the inter-Korean border during his 12 years in power.
Four of those trips were to the North’s main political ally, China.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departs from Pyongyang, North Korea, to visit Russia, on Sept. 10, 2023. via REUTERS
“It will be a full tour,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “There will be negotiations between the two delegations, and after that, if necessary, the leaders will continue their communication in a one-on-one format.”
Discussions could also include humanitarian aid to North Korea and UN Security Council resolutions imposed on Pyongyang, Russian officials said.
US officials, who first said the visit would take place, said that arms talks between Russia and North Korea were in full swing and that Kim and Putin were likely to discuss providing Russia with weapons for the war in Ukraine.
Kim Jong Un greets attendants in Pyongyang, North Korea, before boarding a train to Russia on September 10, 2023. AP
Putin arrived in Vladivostok on Monday, Russia’s TASS news agency said.
He attended the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, which lasted until Wednesday.
Peskov said his meeting with Kim would take place after the forum and that no press conference by the leaders was planned, according to Russian news agencies.
There is no confirmation yet on the location of the meeting or whether Kim will attend the economic forum.
Kim’s train is headed further north to the Amur region, Japan’s Kyodo news quoted an unnamed Russian official as saying, and it is possible he will hold talks with Putin at the Vostochny cosmodrome there.
Pyongyang and Moscow have denied that North Korea will supply weapons to Russia, which has spent a large stockpile of weapons in more than 18 months of war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Laos Vice President Pany Yathotou, left, arrive to attend the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on Sept. 12, 2023. AP
Washington and its allies have expressed concern over recent signs of closer military cooperation between Russia and the nuclear-armed North.
It will be Kim’s second summit with Putin, after they met in 2019 on his last trip abroad.
Peskov said Russia’s national interests will determine its policy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, gestures as he speaks with then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during their meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, on August 23, 2002. AP
“As you know, when implementing our relations with our neighbors, including North Korea, the interests of our two countries are important to us, and not warnings from Washington,” Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian media.
DELEGATION OF DEFENSE OFFICERS
The makeup of Kim’s delegation included top defense industry and military affairs officials, with the notable presence of Arms Industry Department Director Jo Chun Ryong, suggesting a heavy agenda on defense industry cooperation, analysts said.
“The presence of Jo Chun Ryong indicates that North Korea and Russia will conclude some kind of agreement for the purchase of ammunition,” said Michael Madden, an expert on North Korean leadership at the Washington-based Stimson Center.
Kim could offer artillery shells from his large stockpile, which could add to Russia’s capabilities in the short term, but questions about the quality of the ammunition may limit the overall impact, military analysts said.
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South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin, a former ambassador to Russia, said it was in Moscow’s interest to consider its international position after the Ukraine conflict and remember that it helped shape the current non-proliferation regime.
“Military cooperation will violate Security Council resolutions, whatever (Russia) does with the North,” he said.
On Monday, Washington renewed its warning to Pyongyang not to sell weapons to Russia that could be used in the Ukraine war, urging the North to abide by its promise not to provide or sell weapons to Russia.
The US State Department said any arms transfer from North Korea to Russia violates a Security Council resolution, which prohibits all such transactions with North Korea.
North Korea has been one of the few countries to openly support Russia since its invasion of Ukraine last year, and Putin pledged last week to “develop bilateral relations in all aspects in a planned manner with unifying efforts”.
In a dramatic display, Kim gave a private tour of an arms show for Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu when he visited Pyongyang in July, and Shoigu saluted when a banned ballistic missile was fired at a military parade.
Russia has voted, along with China, to pass a Security Council resolution by 2017 punishing Pyongyang for its ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
