(Seoul) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held talks with Russia’s defense minister on strengthening “strategic and tactical coordination” between the countries’ militaries, the North’s state media said on Sunday. Korean, while Kim Jong-un continued his visit to the Russian Far East. That raised concerns about a military alliance that would fuel Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
The talks with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu came after Mr Kim on Friday saw some of Russia’s most advanced weapons systems deployed for its war against Ukraine, including nuclear-capable bombers and hypersonic missiles , as well as a key warship in its Pacific Fleet, according to the KCNA news agency.
Kim Jong-un’s trip, marked by a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, underscored how their interests align amid distinct and escalating conflicts with the West. US and South Korean officials say North Korea could provide much-needed munitions for Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine in exchange for sophisticated Russian weapons technology that would advance Mr Kim’s nuclear ambitions .
Although his main focus is military cooperation, Mr Kim also appears to be using his trip to encourage broader exchanges between the countries as he tries to break diplomatic isolation.
The governor of Russia’s Primorye region, which includes Vladivostok, said he planned to meet Kim Jong-un on Sunday.
Governor Oleg Kozhemyako indicated on his messaging application channel that they will discuss exchange programs allowing schoolchildren to participate in summer camps in the respective countries and other ways to cooperate in the fields of sports , tourism and culture.
A day after visiting an aircraft factory in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, which produces Russia’s most powerful fighter jets, Mr. Kim went on Saturday to an airport near the port city of Vladivostok, where Minister Shoigu and other senior military officials allowed him to closely observe Russian strategic bombers and other warplanes.
All of the Russian warplanes presented to Mr Kim were among those actively used in the war in Ukraine, including the Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers which regularly launched cruise missiles.
During Kim Jong-un’s visit, Shoigu and Lt. Gen. Sergei Kobylash, commander of Russia’s long-range bombers, confirmed for the first time that the Tu-160 had recently received new cruise missiles from a range of more than 6,500 kilometers.
Mr. Shoigu, who met with the North Korean leader during a rare visit to North Korea in July, also showed Mr. Kim another of Russia’s newest missiles, the hypersonic Kinzhal, carried by a fighter jet MiG-31, which experienced its first encounter during the war in Ukraine.
Kim Jong-un’s visits to military and technology sites this week perhaps suggest what he wants from Russia, namely an exchange of munitions supplies to replenish Mr. Putin’s dwindling reserves as his invasion of Ukraine is turning into a long-lasting war of attrition.
Mr. Kim’s meeting with Mr. Putin took place at Russia’s main spaceport, a location that underscored his desire for Russian help in its efforts to acquire space reconnaissance and missile technology. .
Experts say potential military cooperation between the two countries could include efforts to modernize North Korea’s air force, which relies on fighter jets sent by the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
In recent months, Mr. Kim has also refocused on strengthening the country’s navy, which analysts say may be driven by his ambitions to obtain sophisticated Russian technologies for ballistic missile submarines and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as the launch of joint naval exercises between Russia and North Korea.
Later Saturday, Kim Jong-un visited a local theater to watch Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Sleeping Beauty” performed. KCNA reported that Mr. Kim received a rousing ovation from theatergoers and expressed “deep thanks to the artists and the theater for their impressive and elegant ballet of great artistic value.”
Russian news agency RIA Novosti said Mr Kim left after the first act.