North Korean dictator going to meet Vladimir Putin by special train! What is the purpose behind Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia?

A North Korean train has left for Russia, possibly carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, where he may meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. South Korean media gave this information on Monday. The Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing unnamed South Korean government sources, said the train probably left North Korea’s capital Pyongyang on Sunday evening and that Kim and Putin were likely to meet on Tuesday.

News agency and some other media organizations have also published similar news. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has not yet confirmed these reports. US officials released intelligence last week that North Korea and Russia are arranging a meeting between their leaders that will take place this month, as they look to expand cooperation amid a deepening confrontation with the United States.

“At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chairman of the State Department of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un will pay an official visit to the Russian Federation in the coming days,” it said in a statement. Earlier, Reuters had reported quoting South Korean media that Kim Jong Un appeared to have boarded a special train bound for Russia. Russia’s Interfax news agency previously said Kim Jong Un was expected to visit Russia’s Far East “in the coming days.”

South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang late Sunday night and would meet Putin on Tuesday morning. Broadcaster YTN reported that a special train would take Kim to North Korea’s northeastern border with Russia and that the summit was likely to take place on Tuesday or Wednesday. Both reports cited unnamed senior South Korean government sources.

Japanese media reported that security had been stepped up at the main railway station in the Russian border city of Khasan, where Kim is expected to cross into Russia. Recent proposals have indicated closer military ties between nuclear-armed North Korea and Russia amid the Ukraine war.

The United States has also said that negotiations are actively progressing for North Korea to supply arms to Russia. The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin would be in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok to attend the Eastern Economic Forum, but said it had “nothing to say” about Kim’s possible visit.

North Korea has openly supported Russia since its invasion of Ukraine last year, while the Russian president last week pledged to “expand bilateral relations in all matters in a planned manner by unifying efforts.” Kim Jong Un’s last trip abroad in 2019 was also to Vladivostok for his first summit with Vladimir Putin after the collapse of North Korea’s denuclearization talks with former US President Donald Trump.