Putin and Kim start talks as Pyongyang rolls out crimson carpet welcome | Politics Information

North Korea’s state media says Russian chief’s go to is a historic occasion and reveals the ‘invincibility’ of the 2 international locations ties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean chief Kim Jong Un have begun high-level talks in Pyongyang as the 2 nuclear-armed international locations look to deepen defence and financial ties.

Putin landed within the North Korean capital earlier than daybreak on Wednesday morning the place Kim was ready to greet him regardless of the early hour. The 2 males shook fingers and hugged whereas a lady in a standard Korean hanbok introduced Putin with a bouquet of crimson roses. The North Korean chief then joined Putin in his limousine as they travelled collectively in a motorcade, alongside streets embellished with the Russian flag and portraits of the Russian chief, to the Kumsusan State Visitor Home.

The 2 males had been later proven at an official welcoming ceremony in Kim Il Sung Sq., with rows of troopers standing to consideration and crowds of individuals on the sq. itself, which had been embellished with banners and balloons.

As talks acquired beneath method, Putin mentioned Russia was combating in opposition to the decades-long “hegemonic and imperialist coverage” of the US and its allies, in keeping with Russia’s state-run information company RIA Novosti. He additionally advised Kim that he appreciated North Korean help for Russian coverage together with in Ukraine, the place Putin ordered a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

North Korea’s state information company KCNA, in the meantime, described the 2 leaders’ assembly as a historic occasion that confirmed the “invincibility and sturdiness” of the friendship and unity between North Korea and Russia. The 2 international locations’ relations had “emerged as a powerful strategic fortress for preserving worldwide justice, peace and safety and an engine for accelerating the constructing of a brand new multi-polar world”, it added.

Putin is on his first go to to North Korea in 24 years, with relations between the 2 international locations rising nearer within the months since Moscow started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and rising concern that Pyongyang is offering Russia with weapons in return for Russian technological experience.

Moscow and Pyongyang have denied arms transfers however have promised to spice up navy ties.

Putin and Kim final met in japanese Russia in September 2023.

Putin is being accompanied by a number of prime officers, together with Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, International Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister Denis Mantrurov. His international coverage adviser, Yuri Ushakov, mentioned a number of paperwork could be signed throughout the go to, presumably together with an settlement on a complete strategic partnership.

The go to features a gala live performance, a state reception and the laying of a wreath on the Liberation Monument, devoted to the Crimson Military troopers who helped liberate Korea throughout World Warfare II, in keeping with RIA.

Issues about weapons

North Korea has been beneath strict United Nations Safety Council sanctions for years over its nuclear weapons and missile programmes. Russia can be grappling with sanctions by the US and its allies over the invasion of Ukraine.

Together with China, North Korea’s major ally, Russia has repeatedly blocked US-led efforts to impose new UN sanctions over North Korea’s weapons checks and satellite tv for pc launches.

In March, a Russian veto ended monitoring of UN sanctions, prompting Western accusations that Moscow was searching for to keep away from scrutiny because it buys weapons from Pyongyang to be used in Ukraine. US and South Korean officers have mentioned they’re discussing choices for a brand new mechanism for monitoring Pyongyang.

In Washington, DC, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned Putin’s go to to North Korea illustrated how Russia tried, “in desperation, to develop and to strengthen relations with international locations that may present it with what it must proceed the struggle of aggression that it began in opposition to Ukraine”.

“North Korea is offering important munitions to Russia… and different weapons to be used in Ukraine. Iran has been offering weaponry, together with drones, which were used in opposition to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Blinken advised reporters following a gathering with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday.

Stoltenberg reiterated considerations in regards to the “potential help that Russia supplies to North Korea with regards to supporting their missile and nuclear programmes”.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen in latest months, amid weapons checks in North Korea and large-scale navy workout routines in South Korea. A 2018 navy settlement between the 2 international locations fell aside final 12 months and Pyongyang has been beefing up its defences on the border.

South Korea mentioned on Tuesday that its forces needed to fireplace warning photographs after North Korean troopers concerned in laying mines and different actions crossed the border, apparently by mistake. A comparable incident occurred on June 9.