North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on his armored train to discuss “sensitive issues” with Vladimir Putin

2023-09-12 08:23:19

Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia this Tuesday to hold a meeting with the president Vladimir Putin with the aim of addressing “sensitive issues”, while speculation points towards a arms deal between both countries. The North Korean leader had left Pyongyang on Sunday on his armored train, accompanied by an important delegation of military officers.

Russian state agency Ria Novosti confirmed that the convoy crossed the border through Primorsky Krai on Tuesday. Both governments confirmed the meeting and although they did not specify the date or place of the meeting, the second since April 2019, it is believed that it will take place in Vladivostok, in the Far East, this Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that the summit will discuss “sensitive” issues for the two neighboring countries, but clarified that there will be “no disclosure or public announcement” in this regard.

External analysts estimate that the meeting will probably be in Vladivostok because Putin is there to participate in the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, where he will speak in the plenary session today. They also believe that everything will culminate in an arms sales agreement, despite warnings from the United States.

“When building relations with our neighbors, including North Korea, what is important for us is the interest of our two countries and not warnings from Washington,” added Peskov, who announced that the talks between the two leaders will include issues related to relations and bilateral cooperation, commercial and economic ties and cultural exchanges, as well as on international and regional affairs.

The same sources indicated that Moscow wants North Korean artillery shells and anti-tank missiles for its military operation in Ukraine, in exchange for advanced technology for satellites and nuclear submarines and food aid for Pyongyang.

The leader of the Asian country, not familiar with traveling abroad, had not left North Korea since the Covid-19 pandemic began. According to the state agency KCNA, in Pyongyang he received a “warm farewell”, with numerous senior officials gathered at the station and a red carpet laid out at the entrance to the armored train.

The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrei Rudenko, pointed out this Tuesday, also in Vladivostok, that the issue of providing humanitarian aid to North Korea It may be one of the topics that Putin and Kim address, while Peskov added that Russia is also willing to continue talks on Western sanctions on Pyongyang if the North Korean “comrades” wish to address this issue.

What Kim Jong Un’s armored train looks like and how it arrived in Russia

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) this Tuesday.

At the moment it is unknown if the pertinent changes have been made to the North Korean leader’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 can take hours.

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.

It will be the second meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. The first was in April 2019. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AFP

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.

Kim’s train, in addition to consisting of at least twenty cars, is heavier than normal due to its thick shielding and therefore slower. He used it for the first time in 2018 to travel to Beijing, China. According to assumptions, the maximum speed it can reach is 60 kilometers per hour.

With information from agencies.