MOSCOW: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Vladivostok on Saturday, according to state news agency TASS.
“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived at the Knevichi airfield in Vladivostok,” the report said, adding that Kim was greeted by Shoigu and an honour guard.
Kim’s rare trip out of his isolated country — his first official visit abroad since the Covid-19 pandemic began — has fanned fears among Western countries that Moscow and Pyongyang will strike an arms deal in defiance of sanctions.
Moscow is believed to be interested in buying North Korean ammunition to continue fighting in Ukraine, while Pyongyang wants Russia’s help to develop its missile programme.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated there were “possibilities” for military cooperation after meeting with Kim, the Kremlin said Friday that no agreements had been signed.
But Kim’s extended tour of Russia’s far eastern region, which began Tuesday, has leaned heavily martial, including his military-dominated entourage, symbolic exchange of rifles with President Vladimir Putin and tour of a fighter jet factory in engineering hub Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
After meeting Kim on Wednesday at the Vostochny cosmodrome roughly 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) from Moscow, Putin talked up the prospect of greater cooperation with North Korea and said there were “possibilities” for military ties.
He also told Russian television that Kim’s visit would include a stop at the port of Vladivostok to oversee a display of Russian warships.
Upon arriving in the large coastal city close to the Chinese and Russian borders, Kim was greeted by Shoigu and an honour guard, TASS reported.
In addition to observing Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Kim is expected to visit the Far Eastern Federal University and marine biology laboratories at the Russian Academy of Sciences, according to the itinerary Putin described. Colleges in Russia’s Far East have historically accepted North Korean students.
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