North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in Russia amid U.S. warnings not to sell arms. Japanese media reported on Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia for what the Kremlin has described as an in-depth meeting with President Vladimir Putin, despite warnings from Washington that they should not agree on a weapons deal.
On Tuesday, North Korean state media stated that Kim and other high-ranking military and government officials, including the foreign minister, departed Pyongyang for Russia on Sunday on Kim’s train.
On Tuesday, the Japanese news agency Kyodo cited an anonymous Russian official to claim that Kim had arrived in Russia’s Far East by train at Khasan station.
The South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesperson stated Tuesday morning that the country thinks Kim has entered Russia.
Kim has made just seven travels outside of North Korea and has crossed the inter-Korean border twice during his 12 years in leadership. China is the North’s primary political ally. Therefore, four of their visits were to that country.
“It will be a full-fledged visit,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, said. After a round of discussions between the two delegations, the leaders may meet privately to continue the discussion.
When asked about the rumors of Kim’s visit, a government official in Khasan remained silent.
According to U.S. sources, arms discussions between Russia and North Korea are actively progressing. Kim and Putin are expected to discuss supplying Russia with weapons for the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian news service TASS reported that Putin had landed in Vladivostok on Monday. As the Eastern Economic Forum plenary session continues through Wednesday, he plans to be there.
According to Russian media outlets, Peskov indicated that his meeting with Kim will occur after the forum and that there are no plans for a joint press conference between the two leaders.
Neither the meeting venue nor Kim’s attendance at the economic forum has been confirmed.
Russia has used up enormous stores of weaponry in more than 18 months of war, and both Pyongyang and Moscow have rejected that North Korea will provide Russia with munitions.
Recent indications of increased military collaboration between Russia and the nuclear-armed North have alarmed Washington and its allies. Kim and Putin had met once in 2019, during Kim’s previous overseas trip.
According to Russian media outlets, Peskov indicated that the country’s national interests will determine Russia’s policy.
During the implementation of ties with neighbors like North Korea, Peskov stated, “As you know, the interests of our two countries are important to us, and not warnings from Washington.”
MILITARY OFFICIALS’ DEPUTY
An observer has speculated that the visit’s emphasis would be on defense industry cooperation since the North Korean team includes key party officials who oversee defense industry and military matters, such as Munitions Industry Department Director Jo Chun Ryong.
“The presence of Jo Chun Ryong indicates that North Korea and Russia will conclude some type of agreement for munitions purchases,” said Michael Madden, an expert on North Korean leadership at the Washington-based Stimson Center.
Former South Korean ambassador to Russia and current Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin has remarked that it is in Russia’s best interest to reflect on its international status during the Ukraine war and recall its role in establishing the existing nonproliferation system.
He added that whatever (Russia) conducts with the North if it involves military collaboration, it would violate Security Council resolution. On Monday, the socials again warned North Korea not to provide weapons to Russia that may be used in the conflict in Ukraine. They pressed the North to keep its word and not give or sell weapons to Russia.
The State Department of the United States has said that any weaponry transfer from North Korea to Russia would directly violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Matthew Miller, a United States Department of State spokesman, told reporters, “We have vigorously implemented our sanctions on businesses that assist Russia’s military effort.
Last week, Putin promised to “expand bilateral ties in all respects in a planned way by pooling efforts” with North Korea, one of the few nations to have publicly backed Russia since the invasion of Ukraine last year.
When Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang in July, Kim gave him a tour of an armaments expo; they both saw a military parade that included prohibited ballistic missiles.
Together with China, Russia approved resolutions in the Security Council in 2017 that would have punished North Korea for its ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests.
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