Kim Jong Un Plans Visit to Putin for Talks on Military Support Amid Ukraine Conflict
According to a US official who spoke to the BBC’s US partner CBS, Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, intends to visit Russia this month to meet with President Vladimir Putin.
The idea of North Korea supplying Moscow with weaponry to bolster its conflict in Ukraine will be a topic of discussion between the two leaders, the official added. It is unclear where the talks would take place.
The reports, which were also covered by other American media, were met with “nothing to say” by the Kremlin spokesman. North Korea did not immediately respond with a statement. The North York Times was informed by sources that Mr. Kim will probably take an armored train.
The potential meeting comes after the White House claimed to have fresh intelligence indicating the two countries’ arms talks were “actively advancing.”
The Hwasong Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, thought to be the nation’s first ICBM to utilize solid propellants, was among the weapons on exhibit at the gathering. Since the Covid epidemic, Mr. Kim had never welcomed visitors from outside the nation.
He threatened that if North Korea did give Russia weapons, the US would respond with measures such as sanctions. Both Washington and Seoul are concerned about what North Korea might receive in exchange for such an agreement, which may lead to increasing military cooperation between the two nations in Asia.
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Kim-Putin Summit
As reported by South Korea’s intelligence agency on Monday, Mr. Shoigu had offered that North Korea, China, and Russia conduct combined naval exercises like to those conducted by the US, South Korea, and Japan.
Another worry is that Russia might one day give North Korea weapons when Pyongyang most needs them. Even more concerning, Kim Jong Un might ask Vladimir Putin for access to cutting-edge weaponry or knowledge to further his nuclear weapons program.
A deal, though, can turn out to be more commercial than strategic. For now, Russia needs weapons, and North Korea, which is starving due to sanctions, needs cash and food.
According to the New York Times, Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin may meet in the Russian port city of Vladivostok on the country’s east coast.
According to Edward Wong, the newspaper’s diplomatic correspondent, a team of North Korean officials visited Vladivostok and Moscow late last month. When Mr. Kim arrived in Vladivostok by train in April 2019, the two presidents last spoke.
Officials gave him a traditional gift of bread and salt as a welcome. Also, this was likely Mr. Kim’s final trip. Mr. Putin stated following the meeting that Mr. Kim would need “security guarantees” in Pyongyang to give up his nuclear program.
The summit between Mr. Kim and the then-US President took place in Vietnam just months prior to that meeting.
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Source: BBC
