Kim Jong Un arrives in Russia by special train, may meet Putin
[ad_1]
South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman Jeon Ha Gyu said at a news conference that the South Korean military assessed that Kim’s train entered Russia sometime early Tuesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday, where he is likely to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Top military officials responsible for North Korea’s nuclear-capable weapons and munitions factories have also arrived in Russia with Kim.
This visit has increased the concerns of Western countries about a possible arms deal with Russia in view of the ongoing war in Ukraine. North Korea’s official news agency said Kim boarded his private train on Sunday from the country’s capital, Pyongyang, accompanied by members of the ruling party, government and military.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman Jeon Ha Gyu said at a news conference that the South Korean military assessed that Kim’s train entered Russia sometime early Tuesday. He did not say how his army got the information.
Kim’s delegation to Russia is likely to include North Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Sun Hui and his top military officials, including Korean People’s Army Marshals Ri Pyong Chol and Pak Jong Chon.
Japanese broadcaster TBS, citing unnamed Russian regional officials, said Kim’s train crossed the border and reached the border city of Khasan. A brief statement on the Russian government website on Monday said Kim would visit Russia in the “coming days” at Putin’s invitation.
KCNA had said that there would be a meeting between the leaders, but it did not say when and where the leaders would meet. According to Russian news agency ‘Tass’, the likely venue of the meeting is Vladivostok, a city in eastern Russia, where Putin arrived on Monday to attend an international event running till Wednesday. In the year 2019, Putin met Kim for the first time at this place.
According to US officials, Putin may focus on acquiring more supplies of North Korean guns and other ammunition to replenish dwindling arms stockpiles. Officials said Putin wanted to defuse Ukraine’s counterattacks and show he was capable of waging a protracted war.
If this happens, there may be more pressure on the US and its partners to move forward with the talks because despite sending huge consignments of advanced weapons to Ukraine in the last 17 months, there are no signs of ending the long conflict.
Analysts say North Korea probably has millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs, which are likely to help the Russian military.
Disclaimer: IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
[ad_2]
Source link
