Putin, Kim hold summit at Russian space centre

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for talks on Wednesday that could see them forge an arms deal that would defy global sanctions.

Putin said he was "very glad" to see Kim, Russian state television reported, after Kremlin footage showed the pair shaking hands enthusiastically at the Vostochny Cosmodrome spaceport in the far east of Russia.

While Kim was in Russia, Pyongyang fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, the South Korean military said, the latest in a string of sanctions-busting tests.

Experts say Russia will likely use the talks to seek artillery shells and antitank missiles from North Korea, which wants advanced satellite and nuclear-powered submarine technology in return.

"We'll talk about all the issues, without haste. There is time," Putin said, when asked by reporters whether military cooperation would be on the agenda.

Kim, who travelled overland to Russia in his bullet-proof train, was accompanied by an entourage that suggested the summit would have a strong military focus.

Among the top military officials accompanying Kim were Korean People's Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon and Munitions Industry Department Director Jo Chun Ryong, according to the North's state media.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu took part in the talks with Kim, as did Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, images on Russian state television showed.

Ahead of the announcement of the talks, Russian news agencies published images of Kim and Putin touring the vast space centre.

"The leader of the DPRK shows great interest in rocket technology, and they are trying to develop (their presence in) space," Putin said, referring to North Korea by its official name.

Kim thanked Putin for inviting him to visit, despite the Russian leader's "busy schedule".

Kim had earlier stressed the trip -- his first post-pandemic foreign travel -- showed North Korea was "prioritising the strategic importance" of its Russia ties.

- Tactical gains -

The meeting at the cosmodrome is symbolic, especially as Pyongyang failed twice recently in its bid to put a military spy satellite into orbit, experts said.

Russia is eager for North Korea's stockpile of artillery shells, while Pyongyang is looking for help with satellite technology and upgrading its Soviet-era military equipment, An Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP.

"If North Korea's multiple rocket launchers and other artillery shells are provided to Russia in large quantities, it could have a significant impact on the war in Ukraine," he said.

Russia's natural resources minister Alexander Kozlov greeted Kim when he arrived in the country, giving him historic autographed photographs of Soviet cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, Kozlov's ministry told TASS.

The White House warned last week that North Korea would "pay a price" if it supplies Russia with weaponry for the conflict in Ukraine.

Kim is also risking the displeasure of his other major ally Beijing by meeting Putin, Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP.

"China will be hardly too happy about Russia entering into what Chinese consider their monopoly territory," he said, adding Beijing would be worried about the regional destabilisation impact of any transfer of Russian military technology to Pyongyang.

Kim and Putin "may conduct an exchange of North Korea's old-age, Soviet-type ammo for Russia's newer military tech or hard currency (or wheat).

"Tactically, they both gain, by getting what they need right now. In a longer term though, Russia's important ties to Seoul will be dealt irreparable damage."

North Korea fires two short-range ballistic

North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles, the South Korean military said Wednesday, with leader Kim Jong Un in Russia ahead of a summit with President Vladimir Putin.

South Korea detected "two short-range ballistic missiles fired by North Korea from the Sunan area towards the East Sea at around 11:43 to 11:53 today", the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

"Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance in preparation for further launches, while maintaining full readiness by closely cooperating with the US."

The Japanese coast guard said two ballistic missiles were launched.

Japan's top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that the missiles "appear to have fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone but we are analysing details".

Kim is in Russia with his top military officials and is set to meet Putin on Wednesday for talks focused on defence cooperation.

Russia is eager for North Korea's stockpile of artillery shells, likely for use in Ukraine, while Pyongyang is looking for help in upgrading its Soviet-era equipment, especially for its air force and navy, experts say.

"Fascinating: a launch without Kim Jong (Un) in the country. A first," US-based analyst Ankit Panda wrote on X.

"Starting in 2019, KJU stopped attending every single publicized launch (and sometimes his presence was deliberately obscured)," he wrote.

"There's precedent for launches without Kim, but not without Kim in-country."

North Korea has conducted a string of banned weapons tests so far this year, the last one involving two short-range ballistic missiles on August 30.

It also last month failed in its second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit.

South Korea and the United States have ramped up defence cooperation in response, staging joint exercises as well as naval drills with Japan.

Relations between the two Koreas are at their lowest point in years, and diplomacy is stalled after failed attempts to discuss Pyongyang's denuclearisation.