NYT: Kim And Putin Summit In A Few Days
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may visit Russia as early as next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin. This information was published by the American newspaper The New York Times, which referred to the heads of intelligence of the United States and unnamed “US allies.” Following the publication, the White House also confirmed “a possible meeting between Kim and Putin.”
At the moment, there are two options for a sudden summit. The most likely option is for President Kim Jong-un to travel by armored train from North Korea’s capital Pyongyang to Vladivostok (2,035 kilometers) on Russia’s Pacific coast, where he will meet Putin at the annual Eastern Economic Forum scheduled for September 10 through 13. The second option involves a visit to Moscow (also by train) at the end of September.
According to American sources, the talks will focus on strengthening military-technical cooperation between Russia and North Korea, whose military arsenals still largely date back to Soviet times. Just as the West has traveled the world in recent months looking for tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets “made in Russia” to send to Ukraine, Russia, according to The New York Times, would like to make the purchases from North Korea, which uses the same calibers of artillery shells and anti-tank missiles as the Russian army. In return, Kim would like Moscow to supply North Korea with some of its advanced technology for building spy satellites and nuclear submarines.
The groundwork for the upcoming Putin-Kim summit was allegedly set by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who visited Pyongyang in late July for the 70th anniversary of the end of the war between the two Koreas and had a lengthy confidential conversation with President Kim Jong-un.
Among other initiatives, Shoigu allegedly invited North Korea to take part in naval exercises that the Russian and Chinese navies will hold before the end of 2023. Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora told the TASS news agency that he “has no information regarding the ‘trilateral’ military exercises,” but added that “it would be more than appropriate given the recent escalation in military activity between the United States and South Korea.”
On August 15, Kim Jong-un confirmed his “determination” to further develop military-technical cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. The speech of the North Korean leader was read at the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security. According to the TASS news agency, Kim Jong-un, who “repeatedly met” with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, “expressed his assessment of the radical change in the international security and military-political situation on the Korean Peninsula and emphasized his intention to further develop tactical and strategic interaction and cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense security.”
Finally, the Pyongyang leader is expected to ask Russia for new and significant “humanitarian aid,” primarily food. On September 4, Putin announced that “this year Russia expects to harvest 130 million tons of grain, of which 60 million can be exported.”
North Korea