During a meeting that is being closely monitored for possible negotiations over an arms sale, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un of North Korea have reportedly discussed “possibilities” for military cooperation.
After Mr. Kim arrived in his private armored train, the two finally met on Wednesday at the Vostochny space center.
Mr. Putin has also stated that he is willing to assist Pyongyang in the development of satellites.
The United States claims that Moscow is purchasing weaponry for its assault on Ukraine, and they have warned that any assistance would violate resolutions passed by the United Nations.
Mr. Putin has also accepted an invitation to visit North Korea that was extended to him by Mr. Kim. Few heads of state have traveled to the state because of its isolation.
The meeting that took place on Wednesday between the two regimes that are under sanctions took place at a time when their relations with the West are at an all-time low. Senior officials from both sides participated in the discussion.
After spending the previous two days traveling to the far east of Russia, Mr. Kim was greeted with open arms by Mr. Putin. After the two leaders shook hands and exchanged smiles for the camera, Vladimir Putin took Kim Jong Un on a personal tour of the space center. The footage was shown on Russian official media.
Mr. Putin greeted his North Korean colleague with the Russian adage “an old friend is better than two new ones.” He based this statement on the historical relationships that existed between the Soviet Union and North Korea.
When Mr. Putin was asked if Russia would assist North Korea in the construction of satellites, he reportedly responded by saying, “this is why we’ve come to the Vostochny Cosmodrome.”
When asked if he would talk to Mr. Kim about a weapons agreement, Mr. Putin responded by saying that they would “discuss all topics” during their meeting.
During this time, it looked like Mr. Kim was lending his support to Mr. Putin’s war effort in Ukraine.
According to Mr. Kim’s statement, Mr. Putin was warned by Mr. Kim that “Russia has risen to a sacred fight to protect its sovereignty and security against the hegemonic forces” of the West.
“We will always support the decisions of President Putin and the Russian leadership… and we will be together in the fight against imperialism,” he said. “We will always support the decisions of President Putin and the Russian leadership.”
On his route back to North Korea, the leader of North Korea is scheduled to visit multiple companies, observe the display of Russian warships, and make a stop in the city of Vladivostok, which is located in the far east of Russia. There is no way to predict how long he will remain in Russia.
North Korea attempted to launch a spy satellite twice earlier this year, but both times were unsuccessful. Pyongyang has committed to creating one in order to improve the military’s ability to conduct surveillance.
However, due to the fact that the technology involved is comparable, the United States believes that North Korea’s satellite program also has the intention of improving its ballistic missile capabilities.
In answer to questions from reporters on Wednesday, Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the United States Department of State, said that there was cause for concern on the potential for Russian assistance with satellite technology to actively boost North Korea’s missile program.
“That is quite troubling and would potentially be in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” which Russia itself had voted for in the past, he added. “That is quite troubling and would potentially be in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions”
On Wednesday, Mr. Putin made comments that seemed to acknowledge this reality when he said that “there are certain limitations” to military cooperation.
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The United States government has also issued a warning that it will “not hesitate to take action to hold those accountable if necessary.” In response to this statement, the Kremlin stated that the interests of Russia and North Korea were vital to them “and not warnings from Washington.”
The interior of Kim Jong Un’s luxurious and bulletproof train How worrisome is an alliance between Putin and Kim Jong Un?
The meeting was Mr. Kim’s first excursion outside of the country since the beginning of 2019. Following the breakdown of North Korea’s nuclear disarmament discussions with the then-president of the United States, Donald Trump, his most recent trip outside of North Korea was to meet with Vladimir Putin.
Many people were under the impression that he was going to travel to Vladivostok, which is where Mr. Putin was attending an economic event; however, the train continued on its way northward to Vostochny. As Mr. Kim got closer to his destination on Wednesday morning, North Korea launched two short-range missiles into the sea off of its east coast. This was the latest in a series of prohibited weapons tests that North Korea has conducted.
The meeting between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin took place after a Russian delegation traveled to North Korea in July. During that trip, Kim Jong-un gave the Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu a tour of Pyongyang’s weaponry, notably the Hwasong intercontinental ballistic missile.
According to the opinions of various analysts, Moscow would be interested in purchasing North Korean armaments because of the interoperability of those arms with Russian weapon systems.
According to Valeriy Akimenko, an expert on Russia’s military who works with the Conflict Studies Research Centre, artillery is “the god Russia worships” on the battlefront, therefore the Russians would be especially eager to obtain artillery rounds and weapons if they could get their hands on some.
According to Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, Pyongyang would most certainly comply with requests to provide both of these things, in addition to bullets and “even older types of missiles.”
According to Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies, it is also feasible that more modern weapons like short-range ballistic missiles and the so-called “super-large” rocket KN-25 might be delivered.
Some analysts believe that North Korea could have a substantial stockpile of armaments because it has not been involved in a battle since the Korean battle ended in an armistice in 1953. Other analysts, however, say that Pyongyang could be reluctant to hand over too much information due to the relative paucity of resources in their country.
On the other hand, other analysts believe that Russia’s military might only see a temporary boost from the use of North Korean weaponry. They point out how Moscow is depending on older artillery shell stockpiles that are less reliable due to the fact that their ammo supplies are extremely low.
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According to Mr. Akimenko, the armaments that North Korea could provide could serve “as a stop-gap measure” while Russia attempts to scale up manufacturing.
However, taking into account how rapidly Russia has been using up its supplies, the sale would not have much of an impact on the geopolitical situation. More Ukrainians would lose their lives as a result. However, Ukraine will not perish as a result of this,” he continued.
In exchange, it is believed that Mr. Kim will ask for financial assistance to purchase food for his destitute country.
North Korea, which has been struggling under sanctions for a long time, has been especially badly impacted by border controls during COVID, which it has only just lately started reducing. These closures occurred throughout the period when COVID was taking place.
It is also possible that it may request more advanced submarine and ballistic technologies from Russia; but, some commentators believe that Mr. Putin may draw a line at that point.
According to Professor Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha Womans University in Seoul, “Even a desperate war machine does not trade its military crown jewels for old, dumb munitions.” This statement was made by Professor Easley.
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The meeting raises a more fundamental query regarding whether or not the severe sanctions imposed on Russia and North Korea are actually having any effect.
Rorry Daniels, the managing director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, commented that their meeting demonstrated that international sanctions have established a “firewall” where the two countries “can transact business without fear of further punishment.”
The United States will have less ability to utilize sanctions as leverage to address underlying issues when more states who are subject to severe penalties are forced to cooperate with one another.
An associate professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University named Park Won-gon made the observation that the current situation does not lack the potential for danger for Pyongyang.
If any evidence surfaces suggesting that North Korean weapons were used by Russia in Ukraine, “it may result in North Korea turning the entire Nato alliance against it, which could subsequently trigger additional sanctions.”
Reporting assistance was provided by Yuna Ku, who is stationed in Seoul.
