SEOUL/MOSCOW: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (Sep 13) in Russia’s Far East, state media said, for talks that Washington suspects will involve defence cooperation, while at home Kim’s military fired two ballistic missiles.
“I am glad to see you,” Putin said as he shook Kim’s hand for about 40 seconds, welcoming him at Vostochny Cosmodrome, a modern space launch facility in the Amur region of Russia’s Far East. “This is our new cosmodrome.”
Kim, speaking through an interpreter, thanked Putin for the invitation and for the warmth of his reception.
The summit between the leaders of the two countries, which have become increasingly isolated internationally, is being watched closely by Washington and allies, who suspect they could agree to trade arms and defence technology.
US and South Korean officials have expressed concern that Kim would discuss providing weapons and ammunition to Russia, which has expended vast stocks in more than 18 months of war in Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied such intentions.
The choice to meet at Vostochny Cosmodrome – a symbol of Russia’s ambitions as a space power – was notable, as North Korea twice failed to launch reconnaissance satellites in the past four months.
In footage released by RIA news agency, Kim and Putin are seen shaking hands, grinning broadly, standing outside, surrounded by security personnel and Russian media representatives, before walking together into a gleaming glass-walled building.
Television footage showed Putin giving Kim a tour of the facility.
Hours ahead of the anticipated summit, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from an area near the capital, Pyongyang, into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military and the Japanese government said.
It was the first such launch by the North while Kim was abroad, analysts said, who has travelled outside the country only seven times in his 12 years in power, all in 2018 and 2019. He also briefly stepped across the inter-Korean border twice.
Source: CNA
