Fostering ties: Kim (seated front row) attending a walrus show at the Primorsky Regional Aquarium in Vladivostok, Primorsky region. — AFP
SEOUL: North Korea said that leader Kim Jong-un has returned home from a trip to Russia where he deepened “comradely fellowship and friendly ties” with President Vladimir Putin.
During Kim’s six-day trip to Russia, his longest foreign travel as a leader, the two countries said they discussed boosting their defence ties but didn’t disclose any specific steps.
Foreign experts speculate the two countries, both locked in confrontations with the West, were pushing to reach arms transfer deals in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim’s train crossed a border river on Monday morning, but didn’t say whether he headed to the capital, Pyongyang, or elsewhere inside the country. Before travelling to Russia, Kim made several visits to his munitions factories, triggering speculation that he intended to check on productions of arms to be shipped to Russia.
While travelling through Russia’s far eastern region, Kim met Putin at Russia’s most important space launch centre before visiting military sites to see some of Russia’s most advanced weapons systems such as nuclear-capable bombers, fighter jets and hypersonic missiles.
In live comments during their meeting last Wednesday, Kim offered “full and unconditional support” to Putin. KCNA later said Kim and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu also met and discussed expanding “strategic and tactical coordination” between the countries’ armed forces.
Many outside experts say Kim would supply ammunition to refill Russia’s drained inventory in the second year of the war in Ukraine in return for receiving Russian technologies to modernise his nuclear weapons arsenals. United States and South Korean officials have warned that Russia and North Korea would face consequences if they go ahead with such weapons transfers deals in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Experts say Kim may end up getting food and economic aid as Russia is reluctant to share its sensitive, high-tech weapons technologies with other countries.Kim has been pushing hard to bolster his nuclear arsenal citing what he called intensifying US military threats. Analysts say Kim would aim to use his enlarged arsenal to win greater concessions from the United States while boosting his military credentials at home in the face of economic hardships deepened over the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, senior officials of South Korea, Japan and China will hold talks in Seoul on Sept 26, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. — Agencies
