Kim Jong-un reached Russia to talk to Putin

Kim Jong-un reached Russia to talk to Putin

Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia on Tuesday to hold summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A South Korean Defense Ministry official said this is increasing concerns about a possible arms deal between Pyongyang and Moscow. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed Tuesday morning that Kim left Pyongyang for Russia on Sunday afternoon aboard a bulletproof train accompanied by key ruling party officials and the armed forces, Yonhap news agency reported. Were.
Hours after KCNA’s report, Jeon Ha-kyu, a spokesman for the South Korean Defense Ministry, said Kim’s train had entered Russia early Tuesday. He said Seoul was keeping an eye on possible talks between the two countries on arms trade. “We are keeping an eye on whether there will be talks between North Korea and Russia on arms trade and technology transfer,” Jeon told reporters.
Russian media outlet “Vesti Primorye”, citing a railway source, also reported that Kim’s train arrived in the border city of Khasan on Tuesday and is headed towards the far eastern city of Ussuriysk. According to Russian media reports, the train passed through Khassan station early on Tuesday.
Photos released by North Korean state media also showed Kim flanked by Pyongyang’s Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, as well as top military officials Ri Pyong-chol and Pak Jong-chon. It is still unknown when and where Kim and Putin will meet, and the whereabouts of the North Korean leader are also unclear.
The Kremlin said talks between the North Korean and Russian delegations are planned during Kim’s visit. The trip will be Kim’s first visit to Russia in more than four years and his first trip abroad since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pyongyang has recently been trying to strengthen military ties with Moscow in the wake of growing security cooperation between South Korea, the US and Japan.
Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Kim was likely traveling to Vladivostok by armored train this month for talks with Putin about the possibility of supplying ammunition and weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine and the possibility of other military cooperation. Are planning to travel to. As North Korea and Russia confirmed Kim’s visit to Russia, the US called on Pyongyang not to provide any weapons to Russia.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson stressed that North Korea and Russia will continue to discuss a potential arms deal during the Kim-Putin meeting. Asked to comment on Kim’s visit to Russia, Watson told Yonhap news agency, “As we have warned publicly, arms discussions between Russia and the DPRK will continue during Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia.” are supposed to.”
“We urge North Korea to abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made not to provide or sell weapons to Russia,” he said.