1 of 2 File photo shows meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in April 2019 Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Portal File photo shows meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in April 2019 Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Portal
A train reportedly carrying dictator Kim Jong Un left North Korea on Monday (11) local time for Russia for a possible meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday (12), South Korean media reported.
Putin is in Vladivostok, where the last meeting with Kim took place in 2019, shortly after the collapse of North Korea’s nuclear disarmament negotiations with thenUS President Donald Trump, who even met with Kim.
Why will the two meet?
2 of 2 Archive image shows meeting between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin in April 2019 in the city of Vladivostok, Russia Photo: Yuri Kadobnov/Pool Photo via AP/File Archive image shows meeting between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin in April 2019 in the city Vladivostok, Russia Photo: Yuri Kadobnov/Pool Photo via AP/Arquivo
Putin is expected to use the meeting to try to acquire weapons for the war in Ukraine, according to U.S. government sources interviewed by the Associated Press news agency.
North Korea has an arsenal of weapons developed to Soviet standards that could be used in the conflict.
In return, Kim could receive help for his energy and food sectors, as well as technology to develop more advanced weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Jon Finer, the US president’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters that this “may be the best and only option” for Moscow to maintain the war effort.
“We have serious concerns about the possibility of North Korea selling weapons to the Russian military,” he said.