Kim Jong-un returns to North Korea after meeting with Putin

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended his 6-day trip to Russia. He boarded his armored train on Sunday (September 17) in Artyom, in Russia’s Far East, to return to North Korea.

Kim had a farewell ceremony attended by senior Russian government officials. Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov and Primorye Regional Governor Oleg Kozhemyako attended the ceremony, which featured a Russian military band playing the national anthems of North Korea and Russia.

This was the North Korean leader’s longest international trip since taking power in late 2011.

Kim it arrived to Russia on Tuesday (September 12) to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the leaders discussed economic and military cooperation. Officials and experts said North Korea could offer much-needed weapons and ammunition for the war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian weapons technology.

North Korean state news agency KCNA said Kim’s visit to Russia marked the beginning of “a new era of friendship, solidarity and cooperation” between the two nations.

During the meeting with Putin, Kim these that your country would offer “full and unconditional support for Russia’s struggle to defend its security interests in the fight against imperialism”. This was the 2nd meeting between Kim and Putin. The previous meeting it was made in Vladivostok, in April 2019.

Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of Primorye, said that a delegation from Russia’s Far East would visit North Korea. According to Russian state media, Kozhemyako said he will be part of the delegation that will travel with experts from the trade, tourism and agricultural sectors. The exact timing of the visit to North Korea has not been announced.

Repercussion

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that “military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is illegal and unfair, as it contravenes UN Security Council resolutions and several other international sanctions”.

Resolutions from the UN Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member, previously endorsed the ban so that North Korea cannot export or import any weapons. The Kremlin denied on Friday (September 15) that any agreement had been signed at the meeting between Putin and Kim.