2023-09-12 05:26:56
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s train crossed the border with Russia on Tuesday, where he plans to hold a summit with President Vladimir Putin, according to the South Korean Ministry of National Defense and Russian state television.
According to a brief text sent to the media by a spokesperson for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the train crossed the Tuman River Friendship Bridge, the only land transportation route that connects the two countries, “early in the morning ” (local time) today.
Official North Korean and Russian sources still do not confirm when and where the meeting of both leaders will take place, which is expected to take place in the city of Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East, this Wednesday and in which, according to Anglo-Saxon media, It is believed that both countries could agree to an exchange of weapons and military resources.
At the moment it is unknown if the pertinent changes have been made to Kim Jong-un’s train so that it can circulate on the Russian railway tracks (whose gauge is different from that used in North Korea), a procedure that may take hours since the convoy that usually transports Kim Jong-un consists of a large number of carriages.
More news: Korea reveals photos of North Korea’s satellite and warns: ‘measures will be taken’
According to North Korean media, the train, which is heavily armored and travels at very low speed, originally left Pyongyang bound for Russia on Sunday afternoon (local time).
From the North Korean capital to the border bridge over the Tuman River there are about 560 kilometers, while from Khasan, the first Russian station on the other side of the divide, to Vladivostok, there are another 200 kilometers of railway tracks.
You can read: ‘A Frankenstein’: what is known about the ‘nuclear’ submarine that North Korea presented?
According to photos published by North Korean media, Kim is accompanied by the Ministers of Foreign and Defense, Choe Son-hui and Kang Sun-nam, and senior military representatives, including the director of the Industrial Department of Munitions, Jo Chun-ryong. Also in the delegation appears to be Pak Thae-song, secretary for Science and Education of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party who is linked to the North Korean space program.
Last week the New York Times reported that Putin would want North Korea to sell artillery and anti-tank missiles to Russia that Moscow could use in Ukraine, while Pyongyang would want in exchange satellite or nuclear propulsion technology for submarines, as well as food aid.
You can also read:
#Kim #Jonguns #train #crosses #border #Russia #Seoul #International