ANDRussian President Vladimir Putin will make his first visit to North Korea on June 18 and 19 since the one he made upon arriving at the Kremlin in 2000. and, later, he will travel to Vietnam.
According to the criteria of
The Kremlin stressed in a statement that Putin will make a “friendly state visit” to Pyongyang at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Kim invited Putin to visit his country during their historic meeting in the Russian Far East in September 2023.
As reported on Monday by the Russian Presidency, Putin will travel to the Republic of Yakutia on Tuesday, from where he will fly to Pyongyang.
We expect good results from the visit of the president of Russia to North Korea. The visit is well prepared. There will be results
Russia’s Foreign Espionage Service (SVR) said on Monday that it hopes Putin’s visit will bring “good results.”
“We expect good results from the visit of the President of Russia to North Korea. The visit is well prepared. There will be results,” said Sergei Narishkin, head of the SVR, in statements to the TASS agency.
The Kremlin has defended “the right to develop friendly relations” with Russia’s neighbors – which shares about 20 kilometers of border with the Korean peninsula -, which “should not worry anyone nor can it be questioned.”
“We will continue to do so in an increasing manner. The potential for the development of our bilateral relations is very profound,” he stressed.
The first and last time that Putin traveled to this country as president was in July 2000, when Kim Jong-il, father of the current leader who died in 2011, was in power.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (file photo).
Photo:
What are the main areas of cooperation between Russia and North Korea?
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu received a great reception when he visited the so-called ‘Hermit Kingdom’ in July 2023.
Basically, much of what is going to be discussed has to do with violating sanctions, and it makes no sense to make it official and put it on paper.
In the last year, both countries have greatly strengthened their cooperation, especially in the defense sector, a rapprochement that was cemented after the summit that Putin and the North Korean leader held in the Russian Far East in September 2023.
According to Western powers, Pyongyang has transferred thousands of containers with weapons that the Russian army has used against Ukraine in that period and, in exchangeit is estimated that Moscow advised the North Korean regime to launch spy satellites, actions that constitute a violation of UN sanctions against North Korea.
After his visit to North Korea, Putin will travel to Vietnam where he will be received by the secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, the most powerful man in the country, an ally of Moscow during the Cold War.
Since being inaugurated in May for a fifth presidential term, Putin, against whom an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court weighs, has traveled to China, Belarus and Uzbekistan.
Kim Jong Un
Photo:
What do analysts expect from the meeting between Kim and Putin?
The founder of the program specialized in North Korea 38 North, Jenny Town, assured that she does not expect “big pronouncements” at the planned summit between leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, because much of what was agreed will surely constitutes “a violation of international sanctions.”
“Basically a lot of what is going to be discussed has to do with violating sanctions, and it makes no sense to make it official and put it on paper,” Town explained regarding what both parties could announce publicly.
The analyst in turn raised doubts about whether this summit can really further deepen these ties of military cooperation and whether they are “sustainable over time” since she considers that they are too closely linked to the war in Ukraine.
“Still, I think there is reason to believe that Russia sees North Korea as a useful ally in its struggle to create an ‘alternative world order,’” Town said.
“At the same time, Kim Jong-un draws a lot from the relationship with Putin after the hard times experienced during the pandemic and after the failure of the Hanoi summit and I think it is a political victory for him,” he added.
Town also believes that a summit like this would help North Korea, a small, impoverished and diplomatically isolated country, see its status in the international community inflated.
#Vladimir #Putin #visit #North #Korea #Russia #strengthening #ties #Kim #Jongun