North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reached Russia on Tuesday where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin. Top military officials in charge of 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 from the country’s capital Pyongyang on Sunday and was accompanied by members of the ruling party, government and military. South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Jeon Ha Gyu informed the media that the South Korean military estimates that Kim’s train entered Russia sometime early Tuesday. He did not tell how his army got the information.
Kim’s delegation, which reached Russia, is expected to include North Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Sun Hui and his top military officers, 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.
Let us tell you that in a brief statement on the website of the Russian government on Monday, it was said that Kim will visit Russia in the “coming days” on the invitation of Putin. 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 lasting 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 the depleted arms stockpile. 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 take the talks forward 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.
Some pictures have been released by the government media in which it is seen that the military honor guard and the people present there are in dark suits and colorful clothes. The crowd is seen waving flowers and flags. These are the pictures of the time when Kim was boarding the dark green train.
If reports are to be believed, the train is armored and other special equipment has been carried in it. News agency Reuters reported that Kim Jong Un’s train is the same train that his father and grandfather used. It has 21 bulletproof vehicles with plush leather sofas and conference rooms. It is said about this train of Kim Jong Un that the armored train has many facilities like an aircraft. Train offers more safety and luxury than aircraft.