Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in North Korea to meet its leader, Kim Jong Un, marking a strengthening of relations between the two countries and highlighting Moscow's growing needs for weapons to support its war in Ukraine.
The streets of Pyongyang were adorned with Russian flags and posters of Putin before his arrival early Wednesday morning, his first visit to the country since 2000. The visit is a rare event for Putin, who has made only a few of international travel since the invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, and a key moment for Kim, who has not hosted another world leader in his politically isolated country since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Putin's visit will be closely watched across the world and is expected to further strengthen the growing partnership between the two powers, based on a shared animosity toward the West and driven by Moscow's need for munitions for its war in Ukraine.
After his visit to North Korea, Putin is scheduled to visit Hanoi, showing communist Vietnam's ties to Russia, which risks angering the United States.
Putin's trip to North Korea will include a "very busy schedule," aide Yuri Ushakov said at a news conference Monday. The two leaders plan to sign a new strategic partnership.
Ushakov insisted that this agreement is not provocative or directed against other countries, but aims to ensure greater stability in Northeast Asia. He specified that this new agreement will replace the documents signed between Moscow and Pyongyang in 1961, 2000 and 2001.
Satellite images from Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies show preparations for a major parade in Pyongyang's central square. An image shows a grandstand under construction on the east side of Kim Il Sung Square, the venue for all major parades in North Korea. An earlier image, taken on June 5, shows North Koreans practicing marching formations.
US national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that the Biden administration was “not concerned about the trip per se,” but added: “What we are concerned about is the strengthening relations between these two countries.”
The United States, South Korea and other countries have accused North Korea of providing substantial military aid to Russia's war effort in recent months, while some observers have expressed concerns that that Moscow could violate international sanctions to help Pyongyang develop its nascent military satellite program. Both countries have denied North Korean arms exports.
Putin's trip mirrors that of Kim last September, when the North Korean leader traveled by armored train to the Russian Far East, for a visit that included stops at a fighter production factory and a nuclear weapons site. rocket launch.
The visit also comes as tensions remain high on the Korean Peninsula, amid heightened international concerns about the North Korean leader's intentions as he escalates bellicose language and abandons a longstanding policy of seeking peaceful reunification with South Korea.
South Korea fired warning shots Tuesday after North Korean soldiers working in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas briefly crossed into the South, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second incident of this type in two weeks.
A 'developing partnership' Kim last week hailed the future of "meaningful ties and close camaraderie" between the countries in a message to Putin commemorating Russia's June 12 national day.
“Our people provide full support and solidarity for the successful work of the Russian army and people,” Kim said, according to the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper.
In an article for the same newspaper published early Tuesday morning, Putin thanked Pyongyang for its “unwavering support” for Russia's war in Ukraine and said the two countries were “ready to confront the ambitions of the collective West.” ”
He said the two sides would “actively advance their multifaceted partnership” and “develop alternative trade and mutual settlement mechanisms not controlled by the West, jointly oppose illegitimate unilateral restrictions, and shape the architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia.”
The meeting comes just days after a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) developed economies in Italy attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where Western leaders reiterated their unwavering support for Ukraine and agreed to use the proceeds Russian assets frozen to support a $50 billion loan to the war-torn country.
It also follows a Kyiv-backed international peace summit last weekend, attended by more than 100 countries and organizations, aimed at mobilizing support for Zelensky's peace vision, which calls for a complete troop withdrawal Russians from Ukrainian territory.
Putin rejected these efforts a day before the meeting by proposing his own peace terms, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from four partially occupied regions and the withdrawal of Kyiv's application to join NATO - a position seen as unacceptable by Ukraine and its allies.
Putin's visit to North Korea is widely seen as an opportunity for him to seek to shore up Kim's support for his war - a goal that could become increasingly urgent as long-awaited U.S. military aid for the Ukraine is getting established.
Last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told U.S. lawmakers that the supply of North Korean munitions and missiles, as well as Iranian drones, had allowed Russian forces to “get back on their feet.”
Between August and February, Pyongyang shipped about 6,700 containers to Russia, which could accommodate more than 3 million 152mm artillery shells or more than 500,000 122mm multiple rocket launcher shells, it said. the South Korean Defense Ministry earlier this year.
Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the arms transfers, with a senior North Korean official last month calling such allegations an “absurd paradox.”
Asked about concerns that Russia would consider transferring sensitive technology to Pyongyang in exchange for those goods, a Kremlin spokesperson said last week that the countries' "potential for developing bilateral relations" was "deep" and “should not worry anyone and should not and cannot be challenged by anyone.”
Putin on the world stage Putin last visited North Korea in 2000, his first year as Russia's president, where he met with Kim's predecessor and late father, Kim Jong Il.
His trip now to North Korea and then to Vietnam comes as the Russian leader appears eager to re-establish himself on the world stage, chipping away at an image of isolation following his widely condemned invasion of Ukraine by attracting like-minded partners. same ideas.
Last month, Putin paid a state visit to Beijing, where he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping affirmed their shared opposition to what they see as a U.S.-led world order.
Last week, Moscow hosted foreign ministers from countries including China, Iran, South Africa and Brazil for a meeting of the BRICS group of major developing economies.