The US is concerned that Putin and Kim will discuss weapons, but an ignored aspect of the meeting is the North Korean leader seeking food for a starving nation.
The bulletproof train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has entered Russia, Russian news agencies said. Ria Novosti in a report published Tuesday said that the train with dark green carriages being pulled along a track by a Russian Railways locomotive crossed into the Primorsky region from North Korea.’
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The Russian media reported that Kim will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week.
A green train with yellow trimmings, resembling one used by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his previous travels, is seen steaming by a slogan which reads Towards a new victory on the North Korea border with Russia and China seen from China’s Yiyanwang Three Kingdoms viewing platform in Fangchuan in northeastern China’s Jilin province. (Image: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Kim Jong Un’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, the Associated Press said in a separate report.
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The train – a bulletproof, armoured fortress – has been used by Kim Il Sung, his grandfather and founding father of North Korea, and also by Kim Jong Il, his father to travel to Russia or China.
This is the first time in four years that Kim Jong Un has stepped outside North Korea in four years.
Putin will most likely ask Kim to help the Russian Army with artillery shells and antitank missiles, which should be available with Pyongyang, given that North Korea is modernising its military and enhancing its nuclear capabilities.
Kim Jong Un will seek advanced satellite and nuclear-powered submarine technology in return but most importantly seek food aid for his nation.
There have been several reports that parts of North Korea are witnessing starvation and as North Korean media is tightly controlled and foreign media is barred from entering the nation, it is hard to understand the magnitude of the problem.
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Russia recently became the top producer of grain and Kim will likely urge Putin to send food shipments so that he can control the issue of starvation in his country.
Putin is currently in Vladivostok for an annual economic forum. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia media the two leaders would discuss “sensitive” subjects.
“Obviously, as neighbours, our countries also cooperate in sensitive areas that should not be the subject of public disclosure and announcements. This is perfectly normal for neighbouring states,” Peskov was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
The US warned North Korea that they will pay a price if Moscow receives weapons shipments from Pyongyang. Peskov said Putin and Kim are ignoring Washington’s warnings.
“In building our relations with our neighbours, including North Korea, the important thing for us is the interests of our two countries, not Washington’s warnings”, Peskov added.
