North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok on Saturday where he was met by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, according to state news agency TASS.
Kim’s rare trip out of his isolated country – his first official visit abroad since the COVID-19 pandemic began – has fanned fears among Western countries that Moscow and Pyongyang will strike an arms deal in defiance of sanctions.
Moscow is believed to be interested in buying North Korean ammunition to continue fighting in Ukraine, while Pyongyang wants Russia’s help to develop its missile program.
The Kremlin has said no agreement has or will be inked. But Kim’s extended tour of Russia’s far eastern region, which began Tuesday, has leaned heavily martial, including his military-dominated entourage, symbolic exchange of rifles with Presi-dent Vladimir Putin and tour of a fighter jet factory in engineering hub Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
After meeting Kim on Wednesday at the Vostochny cosmodrome roughly 8,000 kilometres from Moscow, Putin talked up the prospect of greater cooperation with North Korea and said there were “possibilities” for military ties.
He also told Russian television that Kim’s visit would include a stop at the port of Vladivostok to oversee a display of Russian warships.
Upon arriving in the large coastal city close to the Chinese and Russian borders, Kim was greeted by Shoigu and an honor guard, TASS reported.
In addition to observing Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Kim is expected to visit the Far Eastern Federal University and marine biology laboratories at the Russian Academy of Sciences, according to the itinerary Putin described.—AFP
