MOSCOW: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia, a source informed on Tuesday, for what the Kremlin said would be a comprehensive discussion with President Vladimir Putin, amid warnings from Washington they should not trade weapons under any deal.
Kim left Pyongyang for Russia on Sunday on his private train, the North’s state media reported on Tuesday, accompanied by top arms industry and military officials. A Russian source with knowledge of the trip said Kim arrived on Tuesday morning, leaving his train to meet local officials in Khasan, the main rail gateway to Russia’s Far East, before continuing on.
Kim’s arrival was also reported on Tuesday by Russian state television, which showed a train purportedly carrying the North Korean leader, with its signature olive green paint scheme, crossing a bridge. Kim does not travel abroad frequently, making just seven trips away from his country and twice stepping across the inter-Korean border in his 12 years in power.
Four of those trips were to the North’s main political ally, China. “It will be a fully fledged visit,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “There will be negotiations between two delegations, and after that, if necessary, the leaders will continue their communication in a one-on-one format.” Discussions could also include humanitarian aid to North Korea and the UN Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang, officials said.
US officials, who first said the visit was imminent, said arms talks between Russia and North Korea were actively advancing and Kim and Putin were likely to discuss providing Russia with weapons for the war in Ukraine.
At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin said he was planning to go to the Vostochny cosmodrome, but did not say if he planned to meet Kim there.