North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin, a US official has told the Reporter US partner CBS.
Two leaders are planning to discuss the possibility of North Korea supplying weapons to Moscow to support its war in Ukraine. The exact location of these talks is uncertain at the moment. The Kremlin spokesperson did not comment on these reports, and there was no immediate response from North Korea.
Sources suggest that Mr. Kim is likely to travel using an armored train. This potential meeting follows the White House’s statement that arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are progressing.
Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, reportedly attempted to persuade North Korea to sell artillery ammunition to Russia during a recent visit. Russia may require specific types of shells, but North Korea’s secretive nature makes it difficult to assess their full artillery inventory.
During a previous meeting between Mr. Kim and Mr. Shoigu in July, various weapons were displayed, including the Hwasong intercontinental ballistic missile. However, any deal that may emerge could be more focused on transactional interests rather than long-term strategy. Russia needs weapons, while North Korea, facing sanctions, requires financial resources and food.
Reports suggest that the meeting between Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin could take place in Vladivostok, a port city on Russia’s east coast. An advance team of North Korean officials, including security personnel responsible for leadership travel protocol, recently traveled to Vladivostok and Moscow, indicating the seriousness of the preparations.
Both Pyongyang and Moscow have previously denied that North Korea is supplying arms to Russia for use in the Ukraine conflict. However, some experts believe that the high-profile nature of this potential visit may make it less likely to happen, as Mr. Kim is extremely concerned about his personal security.
It’s worth noting that North Korea possesses stockpiles of weapons that Moscow needs and that could be compatible with Soviet-era military equipment, although these weapons are reportedly in poor condition. In a previous meeting in Vladivostok in 2019, Mr. Putin mentioned that Mr. Kim would require “security guarantees” to consider giving up his nuclear program. This meeting followed the unsuccessful summit between Mr. Kim and then-US President Donald Trump in Vietnam, where progress on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula was not achieved.
