Worthy Christian News > World News > Russia Confirms Visit North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un

Russia Confirms Visit North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, was on his way to Russia on Monday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks expected to focus on military cooperation as Russia continues its war against Ukraine.

Kim, who has ruled his reclusive nation with an iron fist, was reported to be taking his family’s lumbering, luxurious, high-security train. He used the train to travel to Russia when the two leaders met in 2019, the North Korean dictator’s last trip abroad. Kim, who isn’t a fan of flying, also used it that same year to travel to Vietnam to meet then-President Donald S. Trump.

The Kremlin said he arrives “at the invitation of President Putin,” who has been searching for additional ammunition and reliable weapons to continue fighting in Ukraine with the NATO alliance supporting Kyiv with massive military aid.

Tough sanctions imposed by Kyiv’s Western allies have forced Putin to turn towards the few nations openly supporting the 18-month invasion, including North Korea, commentators say.

The United States has warned that it would be a “huge mistake” for North Korea to supply Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine and said Pyongyang would “pay a price.”

North Korea has tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could potentially give a massive boost to the Russian army, military analysts say.

ADVANCED WEAPONS

In exchange, Kim could seek badly needed energy and food aid and advanced weapons technologies. On his military wishlist are reportedly technologies related to intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines, and military reconnaissance satellites.

There are concerns that Russian technology transfers could increase the threat posed by Kim’s growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles designed to potentially target the United States, South Korea, and Japan.

However, a meeting between Kim and Putin would be more about symbolic gains than substantial military cooperation, according to analysts familiar with the situation.

Kim’s arrival in Russia comes in a month that North Korea marks 75 years of Kim dynasty rule since the country was established in 1948.

It has led to massive poverty, with many dying of hunger and the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of perceived opponents of the regime, including devoted Christians facing torture and death in labor camps or other detention facilities, according to numerous sources, including survivors.

As his train left the North Korean capital on Sunday evening, sources suggested that the Kim-Putin summit would likely be held on Tuesday or Wednesday in Vladivostok – just 80 miles (128 kilometers) from the Russia-North Korea border.

VLADIVOSTOK PREPARES

The extreme weight of the bulletproof train, with its signature olive green color, will make for a relatively slow journey, according to expert train watchers.

It was due to cover the 683 miles 1,100 kilometers) to Vladivostok in about 20 hours, traveling at a speed of about 37 miles per hour, with a long stopover at the border to switch wheels that fit Russian railway tracks.

Locals in Vladivostok reported a higher police presence than usual on the streets. “Both countries show their teeth to the whole world and can stand for themselves. So there is something in common,” said resident Fyodor, who did not give her surname, told media.

Another resident, Svetlana, added: “He [Kim Jong-un] is such a cryptic person, so I don’t even know if he will come or not. But I think he must come – we have some changes going on, so it must be interesting for him what happens in Russia.”

The Kremlin said last week that Moscow intends to deepen its “mutually respectful relations” with Pyongyang, one of its close Cold War allies.