Published September 18, 2023 at 2:17 p.m.
After the warm handshakes with Vladimir Putin, the exchange of statements and welcoming rifles as well as gifts from the president, there followed four long days full of smiles and visits to the Kremlin chief’s ministers. As Kim Jong-un returned to Pyongyang in his armored train on Sunday evening, he sent his “sincere thanks” to his hosts for this promising trip to the Russian Far East.
The North Korean leader was actually entitled to an extensive tour of the property. With one priority, from Vostochnï to Vladivostok, via Komsomolsk-on-Amur: the Russian military-industrial complex. Although no agreement was officially reached between the two countries, this defense-focused trip revealed plans for ties and exchanges.
New collaborations
“We see the potential for cooperation both in the field of aircraft construction and in other sectors,” said Denis Manturov, Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Industry and Trade. Used for years to meet the CEOs of European companies that wanted to invest in Russia, especially Renault and Safran, this Kremlin loyalist, who is considered to be more liberal, smiled this time next to Kim Jong-un.
The photo, taken in an airplane cockpit, shows them laughing and complicit, the highlight of the visit to the aviation factories in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Kim Jong-un, whose father had already visited the site in 2002, inspected in particular the production facilities for combat aircraft and civil transport aircraft of the manufacturer Sukhoi. And he saw a flight demonstration of a Su-35 fighter. “Today we stand together in the face of pressure from the collective West,” said Mikhail Degtiarev, the local governor, who multiplied tributes to his distinguished guest.
“The Sleeping Beauty”
The governor of Vladivostok, the final destination of Kim Jong-un’s journey, was also not unworthy. Russian public television cameras missed nothing of the prestigious guest’s forays, particularly his arrival in a black car, surrounded by extensive security, to a performance of “Sleeping Beauty,” a ballet by Tchaikovsky. After the show, Governor Oleg Kojemiako praised “the development of relations” between North Korea and the region in the areas of “sports, tourism, culture and trade.”
North Korean leader and President Putin at the Vostochny cosmodrome.via Portal
Then he expressed his presentation: Kim Jong-un, who also met North Korean students on the university campus and watched a water show in the city’s oceanarium, offered five explosive drones, a reconnaissance drone, a bulletproof vest and “no special clothing” detectable by thermal imaging cameras “. Symbolic donations of military projects between the two countries.
Sergei Shoigu’s visit was organized in Vladivostok. The defense minister, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, received the North Korean leader at Knievichi air base to introduce him to a MiG-31 fighter and the Kinjal hypersonic missile system. The two men also checked the Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M bombers. After taking part in a warship exercise, they discussed practical ways to strengthen military and security cooperation, according to official news agencies of both countries.
“Tactical Gains”
After nineteen months of “special operations” in Ukraine, the lack of weapons would lead Russia to turn to North Korea. In return, Pyongyang would receive technology from Moscow for its nuclear and ballistics programs. “Both sides have something to gain. But it will be primarily about tactical gains,” warns Andreï Kortunov from the Russian Council, a Moscow-based think tank for international issues.
No agreement was officially signed during the trip. “It was not planned to sign any,” assured Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. In the footage in Vladivostok, Kim Jong-un, smiling and nodding, asked about the missiles and the techniques for firing them from the plane. At the moment he was just walking with his arms full of presents. And promises.