5-9-2023 (MOSCOW) Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, is reportedly planning to travel to Russia later this month for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. A US official informed CBS, a BBC partner in the US, about this planned summit.
According to the official, the main topic of discussion between the two leaders will be the possibility of North Korea supplying weapons to support Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. However, the exact location of the meeting has not yet been confirmed.
There has been no immediate response to this report from North Korea or Russia.
Sources have suggested that Kim Jong Un is likely to travel to Russia by armoured train.
This potential summit comes following recent statements from the White House indicating that arms negotiations between North Korea and Russia have been making significant progress. John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, revealed that Russia’s Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, had attempted to persuade Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition to Russia during a recent visit to North Korea.
The meeting between the two leaders could take place in Vladivostok, a port city on Russia’s east coast, according to reports from The New York Times. An advance team of North Korean officials, including security officers responsible for travel protocols for their leadership, reportedly traveled to Vladivostok and Moscow late last month.
Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times, noted that North Korea might be seeking advanced technology from Russia for its satellite and nuclear-powered submarine programs. Additionally, North Korea, being one of the world’s poorest countries, often faces food shortages and could be seeking food aid from Russia.
Both Pyongyang and Moscow have previously denied allegations that North Korea is supplying arms to Russia for use in the Ukraine conflict.
John Everard, a former UK ambassador to North Korea, expressed skepticism about the likelihood of the visit, stating that Kim Jong Un is extremely secretive about his travel plans due to concerns about his personal security. He suggested that the publicity surrounding the potential visit might lead to its cancellation. Furthermore, he noted that North Korea would likely demand a very high price for any weapons it supplies to Russia.
Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin last met in April 2019 when Kim arrived in Vladivostok by train. During that meeting, Putin stated that Kim would require “security guarantees” in exchange for denuclearization. This meeting followed a failed summit between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump in Vietnam, where no progress was made on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
