The talks between Russian President Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim are likely to revolve primarily around arms deliveries. But the meeting could be about much more.
According to consistent media reports, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has now arrived in Russia. In the morning his train crossed the Russian border – Russian state television showed a train with green wagons and a Russian locomotive. The location and exact time of the meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin are still being kept secret. But it shouldn’t be too long before the two heads of state begin their talks.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov at least announced that Kim did not travel alone and gave a rough overview of what was planned. “There will be negotiations between two delegations,” he said. “And after that, the heads of state will continue their communication privately if necessary.” An official dinner is also planned on behalf of the Russian President in honor of the guest from North Korea.
Weapons for food
Peskov remained tight-lipped about what was being negotiated. There has been speculation for days that arms deliveries are at the center of the talks. “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is our neighbor,” Peskov said. “And of course we think it is important, as with any neighbor, to build good, mutually beneficial relations, which President Putin does quite consistently.”
The Russian North Korea expert Sergei Lusjanin, who, among other things, works as a professor at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, is more specific. He told the Russian radio station Vesti FM: “First of all, of course – it’s no longer a secret – it’s about the formation of Russian-North Korean military-technical cooperation with regard to supplies of artillery shells and other things. In return, it’s about Russian supplies of High-tech components that North Korea needs.”
North Korea’s weapons could give Russia a huge boost
This is in line with the assessment of many experts. North Korea is said to have tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets, which could give Russian troops a huge boost in their aggressive war in Ukraine. And North Korea could receive modern technology for satellites and nuclear submarines, as well as food supplies, from Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the issue of humanitarian aid to North Korea would also be discussed.
The USA warned North Korea against arms deals with Russia and threatened sanctions: Any arms deal would violate UN Security Council resolutions that were once supported by Moscow.
Alliance between Russia, China and North Korea?
But expert Lusjanin points out another aspect that is likely to play a role in the meeting between Putin and Kim – and this is the most important one. Russian Defense Minister Shoigu had already prepared this during his last visit to North Korea. “With the visit of Shoigu and the representative of the Chinese Politburo to Pyongyang at the end of July (…), a request was made for the formation of a trilateral military-strategic non-allied alliance between Russia, China and North Korea.”
North Korea would thus be integrated into the long-standing military cooperation between China and Russia. For the fight for supremacy in the Indo-Pacific region between the West and China, this means that an alternative defense system to the US alliances would now emerge, said the expert.