Amid an extensive security scheme, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un arrived in Russia on an armored train in the early hours of Tuesday. The trip, unusual in Kim’s agenda, includes a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, the West and Asia are closely monitoring the meeting.
Geopolitics seeks an old alignment.
In the Russian Far East, this September 12, an armored train arrived that transported North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un for more than a day, who will meet in the next few hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss “sensitive” issues. the Kremlin advanced.
Kim arrived in Russia with a large delegation that includes the defense and foreign ministers, as well as senior military officials.
The North Korean leader was received with a red carpet at the Khasan station, while receiving honors from the guard made up of members of the three branches of the Russian Armed Forces and a military orchestra.
The reception was given by the Russian Minister of Natural Resources, Alexandr Kozlov, president of the intergovernmental commission of both countries. Koslov also received it in April 2019 when the first summit between Kim and Putin was held in the city of Vladivostok.
The trip from Pyongyang to Vladivostok, the distance of which is 1,200 kilometers, takes at least 20 hours, assuming that the North Korean leader’s special train, heavy due to its armor, travels at a speed of approximately 60 kilometers per hour.
Kim’s tour marks his first trip abroad in more than four years and his first since the Covid-19 pandemic, and as usual it was surrounded by impenetrable secrecy. For example, until now the Kremlin has not said the day or time that the meeting between Putin and Kim will take place.
Putin provided details of his agenda during the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum. He said he is planning a visit to the Vostochny cosmodrome, located about 1,500 kilometers north of Vladivostok in the Amur region of Siberia.
It is known that Putin will organize a lunch in honor of the North Korean leader and will hold a meeting with delegations from both countries. In addition, a “face to face” meeting between both leaders is planned.
Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, limited himself to confirming the expected meeting.
Putin and Kim will discuss bilateral relations and cooperation, trade, cultural exchanges, international affairs and “sensitive issues.”
According to the West, a possible arms supply agreement by North Korea to Russia, which has been invading Ukraine for 566 days, would be on the table, a version that has not been confirmed.
“Of course, being neighbors, our countries also cooperate in sensitive areas that should not be the subject of any public disclosure or announcement,” Peskov commented.
According to Western and Ukrainian intelligence, Russia is still unable to produce the missiles it spends in Ukraine so quickly.
To finance the war, or the “special military operation” as it is called by Russia, Putin must convince friendly countries to move closer and strengthen the exchange of high-end technology and microchips.
West on alert
Putin is seeking North Korea to sell him ammunition for artillery and anti-tank missiles, while Pyongyang would be seeking advanced technology for the manufacture of satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as cooperation in oil and food production, revealed the American newspaper ‘The New York Times’.
“The main concern of the Russian government right now is a possible delivery of South Korean munitions to Ukraine, not just one but many deliveries,” continued Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Kookmin University.
Although North Korea and Russia have denied being in arms talks, the United States said talks were moving forward and warned it would be a mistake for Kim to supply weapons to Putin.
Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the US State Department, reminded both countries “that any arms transfer from North Korea to Russia would violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions.”
The official said the fact that Russia “has to beg North Korea for military support” speaks to the effectiveness of sanctions and export controls. When asked about possible sanctions on this eventual arms deal between Russia and North Korea, he responded: “We will not hesitate to impose new sanctions if appropriate.”
When reminded of this quote from the US spokesperson, Peskov responded that “the interests of our two countries are important to us and not warnings from Washington.”
Historically, North Korea has maintained close relations with the former Soviet Union and, later, with Russia. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was one of North Korea’s main allies, providing economic and military aid.
However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, relations between North Korea and Russia cooled and Moscow reduced its economic aid to Pyongyang. In the 1990s, Russia established closer relations with South Korea, but in recent years relations between the two countries have been improving, as evidenced by meetings and summits between the leaders of both nations.
With EFE
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