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SEOUL — North Korean chief Kim Jong Un referred to as his nation’s relations with Russia his high precedence and pledged full help to President Vladimir Putin and his authorities, because the leaders met Wednesday for the primary time in 4 years.
Their remarks underscored the obvious message of the summit: The 2 leaders will help one another, in a rebuff to U.S.-led efforts to isolate Putin over his invasion of Ukraine and Kim over his pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
“Russia is now rising to the sacred wrestle to defend its state sovereignty and shield its safety,” Kim informed Putin, in line with remarks in a video launched by the Kremlin. “We have now at all times supported and stand by all choices of President Putin and the Russian authorities. I hope that we’ll at all times stand collectively within the struggle in opposition to imperialism.”
Putin heralded 75 years of diplomatic relations between the 2 international locations and careworn the necessity for financial cooperation: “It was our nation that was the primary to acknowledge the sovereign, unbiased state of the DPRK,” or the official abbreviation for North Korea.
The 2 leaders placed on a present of bonhomie once they met one another on the Vostochny Cosmodrome, beginning their assembly with smiles and heat phrases.
Putin greeted Kim as he received out of a black automotive on the spaceport within the far jap Amur area, and the 2 males shook palms and exchanged welcome greetings, in line with a video launched by the Kremlin on its Telegram channel.
“Did you may have an excellent journey?” Putin requested Kim, in line with the video. “Thanks for inviting us regardless of your busy schedule,” Kim mentioned in return. The North Korean chief’s sister and closest confidante, Kim Yo Jong, might be seen accompanying him.
The Kremlin mentioned the 2 leaders inspected cosmodrome services together with the meeting store of the launch autos for the Angara and Soyuz-2 house rockets.
Yuri Borisov, the pinnacle of Roscosmos, Russia’s state house company, and the final director of the Heart for Operation of Floor-Primarily based House Infrastructure, Nikolai Nestechuk, described the Russian services to Kim, by way of an interpreter.
The weird selection of location that might sign a give attention to house expertise, a precedence for Kim.
North Korea final month failed its second try at launching a navy spy satellite tv for pc, and vowed to strive it once more in October. The nation’s house company has been engaged on placing the satellite tv for pc into house, to control “enemy” navy actions in actual time. South Korea’s navy studied the particles from the primary failed launch in Could, and mentioned the North’s satellite tv for pc is just not superior sufficient to conduct a space-based reconnaissance.
Putin mentioned he hosted Kim on the web site as a result of he intends to assist North Korea construct satellites, Russian media reported — a shocking comment given Russia’s place as a everlasting member of the U.N. Safety Council and the council’s prohibitions on Pyongyang’s testing of long-range expertise, together with satellites.
“The DPRK chief reveals nice curiosity in rocket expertise, they’re making an attempt to develop house as effectively,” Putin was quoted as saying by Russian information company RIA Novosti.
Kim and Putin might meet at this spaceport in Russia’s Far East. Why there?
Kim entered Russia on Tuesday morning and was greeted with the fanfare of a navy band efficiency and pink carpet walkway when he crossed the border into Russia, marking the reclusive chief’s first worldwide journey for the reason that pandemic started.
Kim mentioned his go to “is a transparent expression of how our occasion and authorities put a excessive worth on the strategic significance of DPRK-Russia relations,” Pyongyang’s official Korean Central Information Company reported earlier Wednesday.
With Kim’s journey, friendship and cooperation between the international locations would transfer to a “recent increased stage,” the report mentioned.
The leaders are anticipated to debate elevated help for one another, together with the potential trade of arms, labor and meals, as Russia runs low on ammunition in its warfare in opposition to Ukraine and North Korea seeks to spice up its dire economic system.
In the meantime, North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles towards the ocean off its East coast, the South Korean navy mentioned Wednesday. Japanese media reported the missiles fell exterior Japanese waters.
Kim left Pyongyang on his famously slow-moving prepare on Sunday afternoon together with high authorities and occasion officers, state media reported. Those that appeared to board the prepare included protection chief Kang Solar Nam and munitions trade division director Jo Chun Ryong, in line with an evaluation of state media pictures by NK Professional, a monitoring web site primarily based in Seoul.
The Russian and North Korean leaders are set to satisfy. Why, and why now?
Wearing a black swimsuit, Kim stepped off his prepare at Khasan station alongside the border of the 2 international locations at 6 a.m. Tuesday, state media mentioned.
Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of Russia’s far jap Primorsky area, acquired Kim on the prepare station Tuesday, pictures present. Among the many Russian officers on the welcome ceremony was Alexander Kozlov, the minister of pure assets and ecology, state media mentioned.
Kim final met Putin in Vladivostok in 2019, two months after the collapse of U.S.-North Korea denuclearization negotiations in Hanoi, and as Kim sought to hedge his bets throughout negotiations of his nuclear program.
Kim has been increasing North Korea’s nuclear-capable weapons arsenal at a fast clip since his failed summit with then-U. S. President Donald Trump, at the same time as his pandemic measures constricted the nation’s economic system.
Kim heads to Russia with a uncommon bargaining chip: The arms Putin needs
Now, Kim and Putin wish to sign that they’re banding collectively round shared pursuits of their respective standoffs with Washington.
Washington has accused Moscow of looking for North Korean weapons.
“We stay involved that North Korea is considering offering any kind of ammunition or materiel help to Russia, in help of their warfare in opposition to Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder informed reporters on Monday.
In an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Vice President Harris mentioned “it could be an enormous mistake” for the 2 leaders to iron out an arms deal.
“I additionally consider very strongly that for each Russia and North Korea, this can additional isolate them,” Harris mentioned.
Min Joo Kim in Seoul and Natalia Abbakumova in Riga, Latvia, contributed to this report.