<\/p>\n
MOSCOW: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday ahead of a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that the US has warned could see an arms deal to support Moscow\u2019s assault on Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Making a rare foreign trip and his first since the pandemic, Kim was seen stepping onto a red-carpeted train platform before meeting Natural Resources Minister Alexan\u00adder Kozlov.<\/p>\n
Kim and Putin are expec\u00adted to meet at an unspecified location in Russia\u2019s far east later this week, the Kremlin has said.<\/p>\n
The Russian president is currently attending the East\u00adern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, the Pacific port city closest to the North Kore\u00ad\u00adan border, though there has been no indication that the internationally isolated pair would hold their talks there.<\/p>\n
\nMoscow remains \u2018secretive\u2019 about meeting plan<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Reporters granted access to the Russian leader at the forum refrained from asking Putin details of the visit but he told journalists he would soon travel to the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian spac\u00adeport some 1,000km from Vladivostok.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got my programme there, and when I get there you\u2019ll know,\u201d he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.<\/p>\n
Experts say Moscow will likely seek artillery shells and antitank missiles from North Korea, which wants advanced satellite and nuclear-powered submarine technology in return.<\/p>\n
Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said it was \u201centirely possible\u201d North Korea had large stocks of ammunition that could be used by Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether any deal is str\u00adu\u00adck remains to be seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not know for sure until there is hard evidence that Russia has used North Korean arms and ammunition on the battlefield in Ukraine,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The White House warned last week that North Korea would \u201cpay a price\u201d if it supplied Russia with weaponry for the conflict in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Kremlin spokesman Dmi\u00adtry Peskov said Putin and Kim would \u201ccooperate on sensitive areas that should not be the subject of public disclosure and announcements\u201d.<\/p>\n
Steadfast allies<\/strong><\/p>\n
Kim is travelling to Russia with his top military officials including Korean People\u2019s Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon and Munitions Industry Department Director Jo Chun Ryong, analysts said.<\/p>\n
This indicates a Putin-Kim summit \u201cis likely to heavily focus on Russia and North Korea\u2019s possible military cooperation,\u201d Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.<\/p>\n
Moscow sent Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to Pyongyang in July.<\/p>\n
Kim has been steadfast in his support for Moscow\u2019s assault on Ukraine, including, Washington says, supplying rockets and missiles.<\/p>\n
But both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied North Korea has or will supply arms to Russia.<\/p>\n
\u2018Begging\u2019 for help<\/strong><\/p>\n
On Monday, the United Sta\u00ad\u00adtes described Putin as desperate in seeking a meeting with Kim<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving to travel across the length of his own country to meet with an int\u00adernational pariah to ask for assistance in a war that he expected to win in the opening month, I would characterise it as him begging for assistance,\u201d State De\u00ad\u00adpartment spo\u00adkesman Mat\u00adthew Miller said.<\/p>\n
Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2023<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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