Russia had no plans to sign any agreements during North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's visit, the Kremlin said. But the simple presence of the head of another of the countries most sanctioned by the West has fueled in these last two weeks the fear that Moscow and Pyongyang will take their friendship to the military field and to Ukraine. In fact, the North Korean leader dedicated yesterday to learning about the most modern weapons on Russian warships and combat aircraft.
This day began like the previous ones since he crossed the Russian border on Monday: getting off his armored train, the traditional way of traveling in the ruling family of North Korea that was inaugurated by his grandfather, Kim Il Sung.
He was received with honors at the station in the city of Artiom, 38 kilometers from Vladivostok, by the regional authorities and a group of children who greeted him in Korean. Then, official car, caravan with the entire delegation, traffic jams in the city that, according to the newspaper RBK, the inhabitants of several neighborhoods of Vladivostok suffered, and an honor guard.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was waiting for him at the Knevichi airfield, who showed his guest Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers. The three aircraft are part of the air component of Russia's strategic nuclear forces, the Russian Defense Ministry recalled.
Shoigu also showed him one of the Kremlin's prides in military technology: Kinzhal (dagger) hypersonic missiles, capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads, deployed on a Mig-31I fighter.
Shoigu accompanied Kim hours later in Vladivostok to the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov. The head of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, explained the characteristics of the anti-submarine weapons of this warship, “quadruple torpedo tubes and RBU-6000 missile launchers,” indicated the Tass agency.
The most important day of this trip, Kim's first after the covid pandemic, was Wednesday. That day he held a summit with the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, who received him at the Vostochny cosmodrome. There they talked about military issues or the conflict in Ukraine.
Several Western countries urged Moscow and Pyongyang not to agree on the supply of North Korean ammunition, as they fear that the Russians will use it in that conflict. The New York Times had published a week earlier that in exchange North Korea would request advanced technology for satellites and nuclear submarines from Russia.
Washington called on Moscow to comply with UN resolutions and sanctions on Pyongyang. American criticism was joined by, among others, the United Kingdom and South Korea.
Putin assured on Wednesday that Russia “is not going to violate anything,” but that it will continue to develop its relations with North Korea. His spokeswoman, Dimitri Peskov, added that Russia is “a responsible member of the UN Security Council,” and said no formal agreement was planned to be signed.
Another thing is the geopolitical significance of this visit. Kim affirmed that she supports “all decisions” of Putin and said that she will be with him “in the fight against imperialism” of the West.
But the North Korean leader's agenda was not only filled with weapons yesterday. Kim enjoyed the local cuisine. At lunch, according to Tass, he was able to taste “Far Eastern fish soup with mustard and rosemary, lamb or halibut on a pear base with truffle sauce.”
And in the afternoon he went to the Mariinsky Theater in Vladivostok, where he attended a performance of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Sleeping Beauty. After the representation, the regional governor, Oleg Kozhemyako, stated that Kim will still be in Russia on Sunday. In addition to a meeting between the two, he still has to “visit the Far Eastern University and facilities of the Russian Academy of Sciences,” as Putin announced on Wednesday.
