Seoul. Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in North Korea on Tuesday on his two-day visit. This will be Putin’s first visit to North Korea in 24 years. This was announced by both the countries. Putin is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The focus of the talks between the two leaders will be on increasing military cooperation. Both the countries are further strengthening their alliance in view of their differences with the US.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Putin would be on a state visit on Tuesday and Wednesday at the invitation of Kim. North Korea’s state media did not immediately provide details about this. Russia also confirmed this visit.
The visit comes amid growing international concerns about an arms deal under which Pyongyang provides Moscow with weapons it desperately needs to fuel Putin’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic aid and technology transfers. However, economic aid and technology transfers to North Korea would increase the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.
Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia has grown rapidly since Kim traveled to the Russian Far East to meet with Putin last September. The meeting between the two leaders was their first since 2019.
US and South Korean officials have accused North Korea of providing ammunition, missiles and other military equipment to Russia to further its fight in Ukraine. However, both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied allegations that North Korea is providing weapons, which would violate UN Security Council resolutions.
Any arms trade with North Korea would violate several UN Security Council resolutions, which Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has previously supported. Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul, said Pyongyang is expected to receive high-end weapons from Moscow in exchange for providing ammunition and short-range ballistic missiles.
Lankov said that even though Russia is reluctant to share its cutting-edge military technology with North Korea, it is eager to receive ammunition from Pyongyang. Lankov said, ‘Ammunition in war is never enough, but there is a great demand for it.’ Moscow has said that it ‘highly appreciates’ Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s military action in Ukraine and noted its ‘close and fruitful cooperation’ in the United Nations and other international organizations.
Tags: Kim Yong Un, North Korea, Russia, Vladimir Putin
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 17, 2024, 20:44 IST