North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia ahead of an expected meeting with president Vladimir Putin, Russian news agency Interfax reported citing footage from Rossiya-1 TV state channel.
The meeting has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The footage showed green train cars and a Russian Railways locomotive driving across the bridge over a river.
Interfax reported that the train crossed the Khasan station in “an atmosphere of absolute secrecy” on Tuesday morning. Khasan is a small settlement in Russia’s Far East and the tripoint where the borders for Russia, China and North Korea converge.
Mr Kim and Mr Putin may meet in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where Mr Putin arrived on Monday to attend an international forum that runs through Wednesday, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
Mr Putin’s first meeting with Mr Kim was held in 2019 in the city, which is about 425 miles (680km) north of Pyongyang. Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that Mr Putin and Mr Kim will meet after the Vladivostok forum, but the reports didn’t specify when or where.
Mr Peskov said the meeting would include a lunch in Mr Kim‘s honour.
Mr Kim‘s delegation likely includes his foreign minister Choe Sun Hui, and his top two military officials, Korean People’s Army marshals Ri Pyong Chol and Pak Jong Chon.
Other officials identified in North Korean state media photos may hint at what Mr Kim might seek from Putin and what he would be willing to give. Mr Kim is apparently bringing Jo Chun Ryong, a ruling party official in charge of munitions policies who accompanied the leader on recent tours of factories producing artillery shells and missiles.
North Korea may have tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could give a huge boost to the Russian army in Ukraine, analysts say.
Also identified in photos were Pak Thae Song, chair of North Korea’s space science and technology committee, and Navy admiral Kim Myong Sik, who are linked with North Korean efforts to acquire spy satellites and nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines.
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Experts say North Korea would struggle to acquire such capabilities without external help, although it’s not clear if Russia would share such sensitive technologies. Kim Jong-un may also seek badly needed energy and food aid, analysts say. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that Tokyo will be watching the outcome of the Kim-Putin meeting with concern, including the “impact it could have on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.
Meanwhile, deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko said that Russia will inform South Korea about the meeting’s outcome upon request: “The South Koreans have an embassy in Moscow. If they want, we can provide them with the information we have.” Mr Kim is making his first foreign trip since the Covid-19 pandemic, during which North Korea imposed tight border controls for more than three years.
US officials released intelligence last week that North Korea and Russia were arranging a meeting between their leaders.
According to US officials, Mr Putin could focus on securing more supplies of North Korean artillery and other ammunition to refill declining reserves as he seeks to rebuff a Ukrainian counteroffensive and show that he’s capable of grinding out a long war of attrition. That could potentially put more pressure on the US and its partners to pursue negotiations as concerns over a protracted conflict grow despite their huge shipments of advanced weaponry to Ukraine in the past 17 months.
“Arms discussions between Russia and the DPRK are expected to continue during Kim Jong Un‘s trip to Russia,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “We urge the DPRK to abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia.”
(Additional reporting from agencies)