North Korea's Kim to visit Russia for talks with Putin
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[September 11, 2023]
By Soo-hyang Choi and Ju-min Park
SEOUL/MOSCOW (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will soon visit
Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin, the two countries confirmed on
Monday, a potentially landmark summit amid Moscow's deepening isolation
over the war in Ukraine.
Kim will visit Russia in the coming days at the invitation of Putin, the
Kremlin said, while North Korean state news agency KCNA said the two
would "meet and have a talk", without elaborating.
U.S. officials have said the pair would discuss possible arms deals to
aid Russia's war in Ukraine and provide North Korea with a much-needed
economic and political lifeline.
Whether Kim made the trip for his second summit with Putin had been
closely watched by governments because of recent overtures that
signalled closer military cooperation between the nuclear-armed North
and Russia as it wages its war in Ukraine.
Despite denials by both Pyongyang and Moscow, the United States has said
talks are advancing actively for North Korea to supply arms to Russia
which has expended vast stocks of weapons in more than 18 months of war
in Ukraine.
The North Korean leader appeared to have left aboard a special train
bound for Russia, South Korean media reported on Monday, citing unnamed
senior government sources, but neither Moscow nor Pyongyang immediately
confirmed an exact schedule for the visit.
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North Korea is one of the few countries to have openly supported Russia
since the invasion of Ukraine last year, and Putin pledged last week to
"expand bilateral ties in all respects in a planned way by pooling
efforts".
Kim's last trip abroad in 2019 was also to Vladivostok for his first
summit with Putin after the collapse of North Korea's nuclear
disarmament talks with former U.S. President Donald Trump.
South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper said Kim left Pyongyang late on
Sunday and would meet Putin as early as Tuesday.
The broadcaster YTN reported the special train would take Kim to North
Korea's northeastern border with Russia and the summit was likely to be
on Tuesday or Wednesday. Both reports cited unnamed senior South Korean
government sources.
SECRECY AND SECURITY
Japanese media reported security was being stepped up and refurbishment
was taking place at the main train station in the Russian border city of
Khasan, where Kim is expected to enter Russia.
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![](../images/091123PIX/news_m91.jpg)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong
Un pose for a photo during their meeting in Vladivostok, Russia,
April 25, 2019. Picture taken April 25, 2019. Alexander
Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Kim does not travel abroad often and, when he does, it is often
shrouded in secrecy and security. He travels by a special train with
its signature olive green carriages that are said to be armoured and
equipped with communications systems and a personal suite for Kim to
work and confer with aides.
South Korea's foreign ministry said it was monitoring developments
but declined to confirm any details. Officials at South Korea's
unification ministry said they had no information to provide, while
officials at the National Intelligence Service could not be reached.
A summit between Kim and Putin would likely focus on military
cooperation and possibly a deal to supply arms, U.S. and South
Korean officials and analysts have said.
The United States has said it would be a "huge mistake" for North
Korea to supply Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine and warned
Pyongyang would "pay a price".
The deepening relationship between Kim and Putin signals a further
global split over the war, said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, the Korea Chair
at the Brussels School of Governance.
"North Korea's support will allow Putin to wage his war for longer,
which is bad news for Europe," he said. "It is further proof that
much of the world doesn't support Ukraine in the way the U.S. and
Europe do, and some countries such as North Korea will openly
support Russia without fear of any real consequences."
In Vladivostok, there was a higher police presence than usual on the
streets but no North Korean flags had been put up - unlike ahead of
Kim's previous trip when the city was adorned with the red five
pointed stars that grace the North's flag.
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(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi, Ju-min Park, Josh Smith and Jack Kim
in Seoul, Guy Falconbridge and Reuters staff in Vladivostok; Editing
Himani Sarkar, Simon Cameron-Moore and Nick Macfie)
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