North Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to travel to Russia in September. He wants to go there with the Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss the possibility of supplying weapons for the war in Ukraine, The New York Times reported Monday, citing U.S. and allied sources.
Kim will travel from Pyongyang, probably by armored train, to Vladivostok, on Russia’s Pacific coast, where he will meet Putin. Kim was last in Russia in 2019, also in Vladivostok. An economic forum will take place in the city on Russia’s Pacific coast from September 10 to 13, and the two heads of state want to meet on the sidelines of this event
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The topic of the negotiations will be the possible delivery of weapons to Russia, reports the New York Times. Among other things, it will involve artillery shells and anti-tank missiles. For North Korea, in addition to food aid shipments, it could also involve modern submarine technology.
Approach
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was in North Korea in July. It was the first visit to North Korea by a Russian defense minister since the collapse of the Soviet Union. A return visit by a North Korean delegation took place in August. The US had previously stated that an arms deal could be negotiated between the two countries.