North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia today (Tuesday), on a rare visit abroad, where he will meet President Vladimir Putin, amid warnings from Washington about a possible arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, according to Agence France-Presse.
Video footage published by North Korean media showed Kim, wearing a black uniform, surrounded by military officials, greeting him without smiling from the door of his private, armored train as it left Pyongyang station on Sunday evening.
The official Russian news agency confirmed that Kim’s train had crossed the border and arrived in the Primorsky region, with pictures showing a train with dark green cars pulled by a Russian Railways locomotive.
Kim will meet Putin in the Russian Far East this week, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
From the arrival of the train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia (AP)
The two leaders are likely to meet on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, the easternmost city and the closest distance to the border between Russia and North Korea. The forum will be held until Wednesday.
Observers believe that Moscow is seeking to obtain artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from North Korea, which in turn is searching for advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines.
Russian news agencies quoted Andrei Rudenko, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, as saying today that Putin and Kim’s talks may discuss Moscow sending humanitarian aid to Pyongyang.
Senior North Korean military officials, including officials in charge of weapons production and space technology, are accompanying Kim, who “departed on a train Sunday afternoon on a visit to the Russian Federation,” according to what the official North Korean news agency reported.
The agency published video clips showing Kim’s departure ceremony, for which a red carpet was rolled out and he was seen off by a band of honor guard at Pyongyang station at around 18:38 local time (09:38 GMT).
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center) during a farewell ceremony upon his departure by train to Russia (AFP)
“firm support”
North Korea and its leader Kim are staunch supporters of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Western countries, led by the United States, fear that Pyongyang may resort to supplying Russia with missiles and missiles.
In July, Putin praised Pyongyang’s “steadfast support for special military operations against Ukraine.”
However, Moscow and Pyongyang deny supplying North Korea with weapons to Russia, which has exhausted a large amount of its ammunition stocks since its invasion of Ukraine early last year.
Kim has not left North Korea since the outbreak of the Corona virus. His last visit abroad was in 2019, also to Russia, to meet with Putin.
Russia, a historical ally of Pyongyang, has been a major supporter of the isolated state for decades, and relations between them go back to the founding of North Korea 75 years ago.
A farewell ceremony for the North Korean leader before he leaves his country for Russia (AFP)
“begging”
“Given his interest in exploiting the geopolitics (of the new Cold War) and his preference for train travel for his personal security, it is not surprising that Kim chose Russia as his first destination after the pandemic,” said Seoul Ewha University professor Leif-Eric Easley.
He added: “North Korea possesses the raw ammunition that Putin needs for his illegal war in Ukraine, while Moscow possesses submarine, ballistic missile and satellite technologies that can help Pyongyang overcome the engineering challenges it faces in light of economic sanctions.”
Even if an arms deal is reached at the Putin-Kim summit, it is unlikely that either party will announce the full details given the “serious international legal violations it entails.”
Kim walks on a red carpet amid an official farewell ceremony before leaving to meet Putin in Russia (AFP)
The White House warned North Korea this month that it would “pay the price” if it provided Moscow with weapons for its war in Ukraine.
The US State Department said on Monday that the North Korean leader’s upcoming visit to Russia shows the Russian president’s “begging” for help.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters: “By having to travel across his country to meet an internationally outcast person to ask for help in a war he was expected to win in its first month, I can describe this as a plea for help.”
Andrei Lankov, an expert on North Korea affairs at Kookmin University in Seoul, explained to Agence France-Presse that a summit between Putin and Kim is part of “gentle diplomatic blackmail” from Moscow towards Seoul, because Russia does not want South Korea to supply weapons to Kiev.
Seoul is a major arms exporter and has sold tanks to Poland, an ally of Kiev, but long-standing domestic politics prevent it from selling weapons to countries witnessing active conflicts.
Lankov said, “The main concern of the Russian government now is; A possible South Korean ammunition shipment to Ukraine, and not just one shipment, but a large number of shipments.”
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2023-09-13 22:44:19
