Kim Jong Un arrives in Russia on board his moving fortress armoured train for arms talks with Putin – who he hopes will provide advanced satellite and nuke tech – after red carpet send-off in Pyongyang

By James On Sep 12, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia today ahead of a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, which the United States has warned could see an arms deal supporting Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.

In a rare foreign trip and his first since the pandemic, a silent Kim waved from the doorway of his heavily armored private train as it left Pyongyang on Sunday evening, according to images published by North Korean state media.

Kim will meet Putin later this week at an undisclosed location in the Russian Far East, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin is currently visiting the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, the Far Eastern city closest to the North Korean border, although there is no indication the internationally isolated pair would hold their talks there.

Experts say Moscow will likely seek artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from North Korea, which wants advanced satellite and nuclear-powered submarine technology in return.

Kim Jong-un waved as he left Pyongyang by train for a visit to Russia on Sunday

Kim Jong-un received a red carpet on Sunday when he left Pyongyang for Russia

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia today ahead of a meeting with President Vladimir Putin (pictured together in 2019) for which the United States has warned there could be an arms deal to support Moscow’s attack on Ukraine

The White House warned last week that North Korea would “pay a price” if it supplied Russia with weapons for the conflict in Ukraine.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim defied North Korea on Sunday and left for Russia despite warnings.

He was accompanied by senior North Korean military officials, including officials responsible for weapons production and space technology, it added.

Peskov said the two leaders “would cooperate in sensitive areas that should not be the subject of public revelations and announcements.”

KCNA footage showed Kim given a “warm send-off” complete with red carpet and guard of honor at Pyongyang station at around 6:38 p.m. (0938 GMT).

On Tuesday, Russia’s state news agency Ria Novosti said Kim had crossed the border, with images of the train with dark green carriages being pulled down the track by a Russian Railways locomotive.

Kim will travel to Russia with his top military officials, including Korean People’s Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon and Ministry of Munitions Industry Director Jo Chun Ryong, analysts said.

This indicates that a summit between Putin and Kim “will likely focus heavily on the possible military cooperation between Russia and North Korea,” Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

Moscow sent Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Pyongyang in July. He recently suggested bilateral joint naval exercises.

Kim Jong Un waves from a train in Pyongyang, North Korea, before leaving for Russia on Sunday

Pictured: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) is sent on the red carpet as he departs Pyongyang by train for a visit to Russia on Sunday. He arrived in Russia on Tuesday

It is understood Kim will be accompanied by unnamed members of the country’s ruling party, government and military. Pictured: Kim Jong Un departs Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sunday to visit Russia

North Korea may have tens of millions of artillery shells and missiles based on Soviet designs that could potentially provide a major boost to Russia’s military, analysts say. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled M109 howitzer at Russian troops in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on Monday

A green train with yellow decorations, similar to the one used by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his previous trips, was seen on Monday from a viewing platform in Fangchuan in China’s northeastern Jilin province.

Kim has been steadfast in his support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, including, Washington says, supplying missiles.

But both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied that North Korea has or will supply weapons to Russia, which has eaten its vast stockpiles of ammunition since launching its attack on Ukraine early last year.

Kim has not traveled outside North Korea since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. His last real foreign trip was in 2019, also to Russia to meet Putin.

“North Korea has the raw ammunition Putin needs for his illegal war in Ukraine, while Moscow has submarine, ballistic and satellite technologies that could help Pyongyang leapfrog the technical challenges it faces under economic sanctions ” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

On Monday, the United States called Putin desperate to meet with Kim.

“Having to travel across his own country to meet an international pariah and ask for help in a war he expected to win in the opening month, I would characterize it as a plea for help,” said Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. said.

“I will remind both countries that any transfer of weapons from North Korea to Russia would violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions,” he added.

Washington has said Russia could use weapons from North Korea to attack Ukraine’s food supply and heating infrastructure ahead of winter, to “try to seize territory belonging to another sovereign nation.”

Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul, told AFP that a summit between Putin and Kim was part of Moscow’s “soft diplomatic blackmail” of Seoul because Russia did not want South Korea to supply weapons to Kiev.

Seoul is a major arms exporter and has sold tanks to Kiev’s ally Poland, but long-standing domestic policy prohibits the country from selling weapons in active conflicts.

“The Russian government’s biggest concern now is a possible shipment of the South Korean ammunition to Ukraine, not just one shipment but many shipments,” Lankov said.