Kim Jong Un’s meeting with Putin in Russia
According to Iran Gate, Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, is traveling to Russia to have a discussion with Putin about military and food aid. During the Eastern Economic Forum, which will be held from September 10th to 13th in Vladivostok, the leader of North Korea will meet with the President of Russia.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, intends to visit Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and directly discuss the possibility of Moscow providing more arms for the war in Ukraine and other forms of military cooperation. This news, which was previously published in The New York Times, has been confirmed by the National Security Council.
Adrian Watson, the spokesperson for the United States National Security Council, said, as we have publicly warned, the arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are actively progressing. We have information that Kim Jong Un expects these talks to continue, including diplomatic interactions at the leadership level in Russia.
Adrian Watson, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, further added, we want the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea, to halt the arms negotiations with Russia and respect North Korea’s public commitments to refrain from supplying or selling weapons to Russia.
Kim can travel from Pyongyang to Vladivostok by armored train, which rarely happens, to meet the President of Russia at the Far Eastern Federal University campus where the economic summit is scheduled to take place from September 10th to 13th.
The North Korean leader can also visit Pier 33, where Russian naval ships dock in the Pacific Ocean and even travel to Moscow. It is expected that Kim will have a brief stop in Kuyan Vostochny, the meeting place with Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus and Kim’s partner in April 2022.
Putin wants Kim Jong Un to agree to send artillery and anti-tank missiles to Russia, while Pyongyang requests advanced technology from the Kremlin for satellites and nuclear submarines. The North Korean leader may also seek food assistance for his country due to long-term isolation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and increasing international sanctions that have caused resource shortages.
The White House warned on Thursday about the exchange of letters between the leaders of the two countries, in which they discussed a possible arms deal, based on classified information. John F. Kirby, the spokesperson for the US Department of Defense, stated that high-level negotiations on military cooperation between the two countries are actively progressing.
At the end of August, a delegation of about 20 North Korean officials traveled to Russia to plan a meeting between the two leaders. It is possible that the groundwork for this meeting was laid by Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defense Minister, during his trip to North Korea in July, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the victory of South Korea and the United States in the Korean War.
Photos released by the North Korean state agency, KCNA, show Kim and Shoigu at an exhibition of prohibited military equipment and weapons, including ballistic missiles. During this meeting, Kim presented his requests for further military cooperation to Shoigu and asked Putin to visit North Korea. Shoigu then extended an invitation to Kim to visit Russia with a reciprocal offer.
Based on available information, Moscow has proposed to North Korea through Shoygu to conduct joint naval maneuvers and exercises with the participation of China. Shoygu’s trip to North Korea was the first visit by a Russian defense minister since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
However, in May, on the occasion of Russia’s National Day, a letter was written to Putin stating that he pledged to support the North Korean leader and promised that the Russian people would have full support and solidarity with North Korea in asserting their rights.
Jean H. Lee, a researcher at the Wilson Center, said that strengthening the alliance between Russia and North Korea is happening at an opportune time for both countries, with very few allies and a potential common enemy, the United States.
A Chinese delegation led by Li Hongzhong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, has recently visited North Korea, and according to North Korean state media, a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping has been delivered to Kim. The exchange of letters is one of the methods that the North Korean leader often uses to establish relations with leaders of allied or potential partner countries.
Kim visited Russia for the first time in 2019, when he arrived in Vladivostok with his green-armored train to meet Putin. As the train slowly entered the station, North Korean servants, wearing white gloves, started running and frantically cleaning any surface or object that Kim could possibly touch.
The United States of America had issued a warning about the possibility of cooperation between North Korea and Russia for the first time a year ago. In subsequent revelations, John F. Kirby claimed that North Korea had been sending weapons to Russia through the Middle East and North Africa. The refusal of North Korea, Iran, and China to support Russia is a key element of the Biden administration’s strategy to assist Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression.
However, it appears that the Kremlin cannot confirm the speculated meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, which has been predicted by American media and confirmed by the White House to take place by the end of the month. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, stated during a press conference that we cannot confirm it. We have nothing to say about it. However, the White House has confirmed the meeting between the two leaders during the Eastern Economic Forum in September.
According to some political analysts, this potential meeting could be a long-term international threat, not only due to the supply and transfer of weapons from North Korea to Russia, but also due to the military strengthening of North Korea. Pyongyang could provide advanced technology, especially satellite technology, in exchange for weapons, which could be used for the development of nuclear-armed submarines by Russia. Therefore, we would have one of the poorest countries in the world, which currently possesses atomic bombs and intends to produce nuclear submarines.
The White House is seeking an arms-for-food deal with North Korea.
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