2023-09-17 07:42:47
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met yesterday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East, where he inspected state-of-the-art weapons including a plane with hypersonic missiles.
Kim’s unusual trip, his first trip abroad since the Covid-19 pandemic, began on Tuesday and included a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, causing concern in Western countries, which fear an arms deal between the two. .
Kim was greeted by Shoigu and escorted by an honor guard upon his arrival in Vladivostok, a large port city on the edge of Russia, near the borders with China and North Korea.
Shoigu and Kim, smiling, examined Russian nuclear bombers and other state-of-the-art military aircraft, according to a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry.
At the Knevichi air base, the minister presented a MiG-31 fighter with its Kinzhal hypersonic missile system, the Russian press agency TASS reported.
North Korea’s supreme leader was “deeply impressed” with the advanced state of Russian aviation and aerospace technology after his visit to the Yuri Gagarin aviation plant, the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported.
Kim Jong-un praised “the rich independent potential and modernity of the Russian aeronautical industry”, as well as “its incessant entrepreneurial efforts towards new goals” and has stated that he “sincerely” hopes that the plant will achieve sustained development and increase its production. in the future.
Along the same lines, he also expressed his “sincere consideration” for Russia’s aviation technology, for its steely development and, above all, for its ability to “overcome potential external threats.”
Kim’s tour of the Russian Far East has been focused on military and aerospace issues, with a visit to a cosmodrome and a fighter aircraft factory, and military references such as an exchange of rifles with Putin.
Analysts believe that Russia may be interested in acquiring North Korean ammunition for its offensive in Ukraine, while the Asian country wants Russian help to develop its missile program.
“No agreement.” The Kremlin denied on Friday that an agreement had been signed, but Putin evoked, after meeting Kim at the Vostochny cosmodrome two days earlier, the prospect of greater cooperation with Pyongyang and said there were “possibilities” in their military relations.
At the Knevichi base, the North Korean leader also examined U-160, Tu-95MS and U-22 3 bombers this Saturday.
“These ships are the air component of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces,” the Ministry of Defense stressed in a statement.
Kim and the Russian minister then boarded the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, where the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, explained the characteristics of the ship and its anti-submarine weapons.
Later this Saturday, Kim visited the Mariinsky Theater in Vladivostok with the Russian regional governor, where he arrived in a black car, surrounded by a large security device, before entering the VIP box, according to images published on Telegram by the Russian authorities. .
According to the itinerary detailed by Putin on Wednesday, Kim will also visit the facilities of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a university in Vladivostok, which has historically received North Korean students.
A “problematic” cooperation. Kim’s visit to Russia comes as Putin tries to foster alliances with other leaders isolated by Western powers.
Both countries, which have been historical allies since the Soviet era, are subject to strong international sanctions, due to the conflict in Ukraine in the case of Russia, and in that of North Korea due to its nuclear development program and missile tests.
The exchange of rifles between Kim and Putin at Wednesday’s summit fueled speculation about a possible arms sales deal, despite warnings from the United States and its allies.
After the meeting with Kim, Putin announced that he accepted an invitation to visit North Korea soon. The Russian government also mentioned the possibility of helping Pyongyang make satellites, a prospect that alarmed the United States.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said cooperation between the two countries “is quite problematic and may violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
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