Kim returns from Russia after a visit that “opened a new page” in bilateral ties

2023-09-19 04:14:15

Updated Tuesday, September 19, 2023 – 04:14

This trip, which has kept Kim in Russia for seven days, has been the longest undertaken to date by the North Korean leader since he came to power more than a decade ago.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on one of the stops on his trip.STRAFPAsia Kim offers Putin support “in his sacred struggle” against Western hegemony

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un is already back in his country after a week-long visit to Russiaaccording to the state news agency KCNA, which considered that the marshal’s trip “opened a new page” in regards to bilateral ties.

Kim’s armored train crossed the border through the only land crossing that connects both neighboring countries and reached the Tumen River station, located in the extreme northeast and the first one on the other side of the divide with Russia, in the morning (time local) on Monday, according to KCNA.

“Through his visit to the Russian Federation, the respected Comrade Kim Jong-un further strengthened the camaraderie and friendly ties with Russian President Putin and the Government and people of Russia and opened a new chapter in the development of relations between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (official name of the country) and Russia,” the short text indicates.

This trip, which has kept Kim in Russia for seven days, has been the longest made to date by the North Korean leader since he came to power more than a decade ago.

Kim and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, They held a summit at the Vostochni Cosmodrome, in the Amur region, and although the details have not been made public, Putin assured after the meeting that there is room for military and space cooperation between the two countries.

According to media outlets such as The New York Times last week, citing US intelligence sources, Kim would be willing to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine with “millions” of anti-tank missiles and artillery ammunition, while Pyongyang would receive in exchange, in addition to food aid, satellite technology or nuclear-powered submarines.

Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have warned that such an agreement would mean a violation of UN Security Council sanctions that weigh on Pyongyang and that will have consequences for both countries.

At the moment, Moscow, according to Russian media, has only admitted to having given Pyongyang various kamikaze drones and one of surveillance, a gesture that would also technically violate more than one of the provisions included in the nine sanctions packages imposed to date on the North Korean regime for its nuclear and missile tests.