North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia on Tuesday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Washington said could lead to an arms sales deal in support of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. The two men must notably talk about “delicate subjects” in the days to come.
Departing Pyongyang on Sunday evening aboard an armored train, Kim Jong-un is making his first trip abroad since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He had already met Mr. Putin, during his previous trip abroad, to Vladivostok, in 2019.
He should find him in the coming days somewhere in the Russian Far East; Moscow did not specify the date or location of the meeting. The Russian authorities, however, released images showing the North Korean number one received by a delegation and an honor guard at Khassan station, located near the border.
According to the governor of the Primorye region, Oleg Kojemiako, Kim Jong-un spoke during this stop with the Russian Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Alexander Kozlov. “A visit of this level is a good message for development […] direct contacts with our colleagues in North Korea,” Kojemiako said on Telegram.
Vladimir Putin, who is currently in Vladivostok for an annual economic forum ending Wednesday, was not asked about the North Korean leader’s trip, despite a lengthy question-and-answer session. The Russian president only said that he would soon go to the Vostochny cosmodrome, a thousand kilometers as the crow flies from Vladivostok, refusing to specify what he planned to do there.
His spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, told Russian media that MM. Putin and Kim were going to discuss without paying attention to American “warnings”. “In building our relations with our neighbors, including North Korea, what is important to us is the interest of our countries,” he said.
Washington fears that Russia is sourcing weapons for its military operations in Ukraine from North Korea, itself under sanctions because of its nuclear and missile programs.
According to the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, it takes at least 20 hours to go by rail from Pyongyang to Vladivostok, assuming that Mr. Kim’s special, armored and very heavy train travels at around 60 km/h. He is accompanied by senior military officials, including his defense minister and executives of the North Korean arms production apparatus, according to official media.
According to experts, the meeting between MM. Putin and Kim could discuss an arms deal, as Russia reportedly seeks to acquire anti-tank shells and missiles.
Historical links
For Siemon T. Wezeman of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, “it is entirely credible that North Korea has significant stocks of munitions compatible with the artillery systems used by Russian forces.” “. Such an agreement would also constitute “an unequivocal violation” of UN resolutions sanctioning North Korea, believes the expert.
For its part, Pyongyang is reportedly seeking cutting-edge technology for nuclear-powered satellites and submarines, as well as food aid.
Washington derided this meeting, seeing it as a sign that Mr. Putin was “begging” for help in carrying out his operations in Ukraine. For Paris, Mr. Kim’s current trip is the visible “mark” of Moscow’s isolation. Russia and North Korea have historical ties, and Kim Jong-un has repeatedly expressed support for the Russians in their offensive in Ukraine.
For Andrei Lankov, of Kookmin University, located in Seoul, a Putin-Kim summit is part of “friendly diplomatic blackmail” by Moscow towards Seoul, because Russia wants to dissuade the South Koreans from providing military equipment to the ‘Ukraine. South Korea is a major exporter of arms: it has sold some to Poland, an ally of Kiev, but its policy is to never supply them to parties directly engaged in armed conflicts.