"An old friend is always better than two new ones," said Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, quoting a Russian proverb to praise Kim Jong-un, who for a few hours was a guest of the head of the Kremlin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, in the Russian Far East. With his eccentric visit, on his armored train from Pyongyang, he wanted to show his support for Moscow "at a special moment". Together with Russia, North Korea will always "fight against the imperialism" of the West, he said.
After days of secrecy, in which it was announced that the summit would be held in Vladivostok, Putin received Kim at the Russian space facility located near the city of Tsiolkovskiy in the Amur Oblast.
The meeting between the two leaders had caused serious concerns among Western countries allied to Ukraine, as they suspect that they might want to negotiate the supply of North Korean weapons to Russia to support its military intervention in Ukraine. The United States recalled last week that "any arms transfer from North Korea to Russia would violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions," which could result in new sanctions against one of the world's most reclusive countries .
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added to these warnings yesterday. "This visit serves to underline Russia's isolation. While the world unites against Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the latter has been forced to resort to regimes like North Korea," said his spokesman, as reported by Reuters.
The North Korean leader arrived in Russia on the eve in his armored train, following the tradition started by his grandfather and the country's founder, Kim Il-sung, and maintained by his father, Kim Jong-il, who feared to fly. Given the slow speed of the heavy convoy (about 50 kilometers per hour), the journey between Pyongyang and its final destination took more than two days.
Kim said he supported "all decisions" of Putin at a time when "Russia has risen in a holy struggle for the defense of sovereignty and security against the hegemonic forces that oppose it." "I hope that we will always be together in the fight against imperialism", he added.
After the official meetings, Putin treated his guest to a banquet in his honor that included duck and fig salad, Kamchatka crab pelmeni, sturgeon and beef, washed down with a selection of Russian wines, according to the Kremlin press pool. In this relaxed atmosphere, the statements continued in the same tone. Kim said he was "deeply convinced" that Russia would emerge victorious in the Ukraine war.
The last meeting between the two presidents was in 2019 in Vladivostok, in the Pacific Ocean. Kim also traveled on his armored train and it was his last trip abroad, as the covid pandemic broke out months later and the Pyongyang regime closed the borders under lock and key. He opened them again this summer, but under strict protocols.
According to The New York Times last week, the meeting between Putin and Kim could agree on a potential supply of North Korean ammunition that the Russian army would use against Ukraine. According to the New York rotary, North Korea may make its arms industry available to Russia in exchange for advanced technology for satellites and nuclear submarines.
After the summit, the Kremlin, which until then had been silent on Western "warnings", responded. "We are a responsible member of the UN Security Council," said its spokesman, Dmitri Peskov. But "North Korea is our neighbor and we will develop relations despite all the reservations and whatever reproaches they make to us", he added.
On Rossiya-1 public television, Putin stated that despite these circumstances, there is room for military and space cooperation with North Korea. "There are certain restrictions. Russia complies with all of them, but there are things that, of course, we can talk about", he assured.
When reporters asked Putin ahead of the summit whether Russia would help North Korea build satellites, following Pyongyang's two recent failures to put a military spy satellite into orbit, the Russian leader replied: "That's why we have come this far. ( Kim) shows great interest in rocket technology. They are trying to develop their space program”.
Before leaving Russia, Kim Jong-un's armored train will continue to trot through the Russian Far East. He will return to Pyongyang after visiting an aircraft factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur today and then academic institutions in Vladivostok. In addition, the Russian Pacific Fleet will make "a demonstration" in Vladivostok of its military capabilities, Putin said. He did not give details or indicate the day and time, maintaining, as everything in this trip, the secret.
