North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received a gift on Sunday from the governor of the Primorye region in Russia’s Far East in the form of five explosive drones, a reconnaissance drone and a bulletproof vest, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced in the official TASS press.
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“The leader of the DPRK [nom officiel de la Corée du Nord] received five kamikaze drones and one reconnaissance drone “Geran-25” with vertical takeoff,” TASS said.
Highly symbolic military gifts in the context of Western fears about a possible agreement on supplies of North Korean weapons and ammunition that Moscow needs for its offensive in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin and Kim showed their closeness in an exchange at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, with the Russian president citing “prospects” for military cooperation despite international sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile development programs.
During their meeting, the two leaders gave each other a rifle, gifts with symbolic value in the current context.
Since then, the Kremlin has assured that “no agreement” was signed at that meeting, without, however, reassuring the West.
“The Governor [Oleg Kojémiako] North Korea offered Kim Jong Un a range of bulletproof protection for attack operations and “special clothing that cannot be detected by thermal imaging cameras,” regional services also told TASS agency.
On Sunday, Kim also met with North Korean students from the Far Eastern Federal University at the Vladivostok campus.
During this visit, Kim Jong Un received as a gift from Alexander Kozlov, Russian Environment Minister, a painting entitled “Russky Island” with a relief image of this island opposite Vladivostok, where part of the university facilities are located.
While on the island, Kim also visited the Oceanorium and attended a water show, according to TASS.
The official North Korean news agency KCNA, in turn, described the atmosphere of the last few days in the major city in the Russian Far East as “fervent and warm,” “at a time when a new era of “friendship, solidarity and cooperation” is beginning in the history of development DPRK-Russia relations.”