CNN
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in North Korea on a rare visit, signaling a deepening alliance between the two countries and Moscow's need to get weapons from Pyongyang to maintain its war against Ukraine.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally greeted Putin on the plane's ramp when he arrived in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang early Wednesday morning local time, video footage of his arrival showed.
State media RIA reported that the two leaders spoke animatedly for several minutes before reaching their motorcade.
According to North Korea's state media CNA, the pair then boarded together at the Kumsosun State Guesthouse where Putin will be staying, and the two leaders “exchanged their insider views and assured further development.” Opened their minds to (North Korea-Russia) relations according to the common desire and will of the people of both countries.
KCNA added that after reaching the guest house, they had a “friendly conversation”.
The streets of Pyongyang were decorated with Russian flags and posters ahead of Putin's first visit to the country since 2000. This week's visit is Putin's rare foreign trip since launching his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and a significant moment for him. Kim, who has not hosted another world leader in his politically isolated country since the Covid-19 pandemic.
00:21 – Source: CNN
North Korea decorated the streets with Putin banners.
Putin's visit will be closely watched around the world and is expected to further strengthen the growing partnership between the two powers, which is based on their shared hostility to the West and Moscow for its war in Ukraine. is driven by the need for munitions.
Following his visit to North Korea, Putin is scheduled to visit Hanoi in a move that will highlight communist-ruled Vietnam's relationship with Russia, which is potentially hostile to the United States.
His aide Yuri Ushakov said during a press conference on Monday that Putin's visit to North Korea would have a “very important” agenda. Ushakov said the two leaders plan to sign a new strategic partnership.
Ushakov insisted that the deal was not provocative or anti-national, but aimed at ensuring greater stability in Northeast Asia. He said the new agreement would replace documents signed between Moscow and Pyongyang in 1961, 2000 and 2001.
Satellite images from Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies showed preparations for a large parade in Pyongyang's main square. One photo was of a grandstand on the east side of Kim Il Sung Square, where all major parades in North Korea are held. In a retrospective photo taken on June 5, North Koreans can be seen practicing marching formations.
U.S. national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday that the Biden administration itself is “not concerned about the visit,” but added, “What we are concerned about is the deepening between these two countries.” There are relationships.”
Gavril Gregorov/Sputnik/Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin is welcomed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a reception at an airport in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024.
The United States, South Korea and other countries have accused North Korea of providing substantial military aid to Russia's war effort in recent months, while observers have raised concerns that Moscow could use Pyongyang's new military satellites Violating international sanctions to support the development of the program. Both countries have denied arms exports to North Korea.
Putin's trip follows one by Kim last September, when the North Korean leader traveled to Russia's eastern region on his armored train, for a visit that included fighter jets and a rocket launch facility. A stop at a factory was included.
It comes as tensions remain on the Korean peninsula amid growing international concern about the North Korean leader's intentions as he escalates offensive language and seeks peaceful unification with South Korea. The long-standing policy of
Warning shots were fired Tuesday after North Korean troops operating in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas crossed into South Korea, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. , this is the second incident of its kind in the last two weeks.
In a message to Putin to commemorate Russia's national day on June 12 last week, Kim hailed the future of the countries' “meaningful relations and close comradeship.”
“Our people fully support and stand in solidarity with the successful work of the Russian military and people,” Kim said, according to the state-run Rodong Sunmoon newspaper.
In an article in the same newspaper published early Tuesday local time, Putin thanked Pyongyang for showing “unwavering support” for Russia's war in Ukraine and said the two countries “share the ambitions of the collective West.” ready to fight.”
He said the two were “actively advancing their multilateral partnership” and would “develop alternative trade and mutual settlement mechanisms that are not controlled by the West, jointly with illegal unilateral sanctions.” will oppose, and create an architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia.”
The meeting comes days after a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies in Italy, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where Western leaders reiterated their continued support for Ukraine and Russia. agreed to use profits from frozen assets to pay back $50 billion. A loan to a war-torn country.
It also follows a Kiev-backed international peace summit at the weekend, attended by more than 100 countries and organizations, which aimed to support Zelenskyi's vision for peace, including the Ukrainian territory. A complete withdrawal of Russian troops was demanded.
Putin rejected those efforts a day before the meeting, offering his peace terms, which include the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from four partially occupied territories and that Kiev withdraw its bid to join NATO. is – seen as a non-starter by Ukraine and its allies.
Putin's visit to North Korea is widely seen as an opportunity for him to try to bolster Kim's support for his war – a goal long overdue for Ukraine. Wally could become increasingly urgent after U.S. military aid comes online.
Last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told U.S. lawmakers that North Korea's supply of munitions and missiles, as well as Iranian drones, has allowed Russian forces to “stand on their own two feet.”
South Korea's defense ministry said earlier this year that between August and February, Pyongyang sent about 6,700 containers to Russia, containing more than 3 million rounds of 152mm artillery shells or several 122mm rounds. Rocket launchers can have more than 500,000 rounds.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied such arms transfers, with a senior North Korean official last month calling such allegations a “ridiculous contradiction”.
Asked about concerns that Russia was considering transferring sensitive technology to Pyongyang in exchange for those goods, a Kremlin spokesman said last week that the countries' “prospects for developing bilateral relations” were “profound”. ” are and “no one should cause concern and no one should and should not challenge.
Putin last visited North Korea in 2000, his first year as Russia's president, where he met with Kim's predecessor and late father, Kim Jong Il.
Now his trip to North Korea and then Vietnam comes as Russian leaders appear eager to reassert themselves on the world stage, drawing in like-minded partners to launch a wide-ranging offensive against Ukraine. Dispelling the image of isolation due to reason. .
Last month, Putin paid a state visit to Beijing, where he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping made clear their shared opposition to the US-led world order.
Moscow hosted foreign ministers from countries including China, Iran, South Africa and Brazil last week for the BRICS group of major developing economies.
US national security spokesman John Kirby called Putin's latest trip after the president's re-election on Monday “charmingly offensive”. Putin won his fifth term earlier this year without real opposition.
Putin's move to strengthen ties with North Korea has also been a source of pride for Kim, who has remained steadfast despite years of international sanctions over his illegal nuclear weapons program.
A visit by the leader of a permanent member of the UN Security Council will give Kim's domestic audience an indication of his global influence – and an opportunity to push for much-needed economic and technical support from Moscow. .
Russia has previously supported international sanctions and a United Nations-backed investigation into North Korea's illegal weapons program, including tests of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that are theoretically capable of being launched by the U.S. can reach the land.
But Russia's growing dependence on North Korea and growing conflicts with the West appear to have changed that dynamic. In March, Moscow vetoed a UN resolution to renew independent monitoring of North Korea's violations of Security Council sanctions.
Additional reporting by Gawon Bae, Michael Mitsanas, Katharina Krebs, Mariya Knight, Yoonjung Seo, Betsy Klein and Paul P. Murphy