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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country would “fully and unconditionally support” Russia’s war in Ukraine, which he called a “holy war” against imperialism and the West.
The leaders met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a state-of-the-art space rocket launch site in Russia’s far east, as the two countries face international isolation and sanctions over Moscow’s incursion into Ukraine and Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes.
“Russia has waged a sacred struggle to protect its sovereignty and security . . . against hegemonic forces,” Kim told Putin through a translator. “We will always support the decisions of President Putin and the Russian leadership. . . . Together we will fight against imperialism.”
The meeting was the second summit between Putin and Kim in four years and the North Korean leader’s first international trip since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
They are expected to discuss a possible arms deal, with Putin seeking to replenish Russia’s supplies of conventional ammunition, which the Russian army is rapidly depleting with its massive artillery presence in Ukraine. Kim Jong Un is likely to demand advanced technology for spy satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as food aid.
Putin said Moscow would help Pyongyang build satellites and told reporters the two countries would discuss all issues, including weapons supplies, Russian state media reported. North Korea’s two attempts this year to launch spy satellites into space ended in failure.
“That’s why we are here,” Putin said. “North Korean leaders have shown great interest in rocket engineering and they are also trying to develop space (capabilities).”
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) says he will discuss issues such as satellites with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (second from right) © Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Kim Jong-un, who arrived at the space launch site 60 kilometers north of Vladivostok in a luxury armored train from Pyongyang in a limousine, said on Wednesday that relations with Moscow were a “top priority”.
Kim’s trip follows Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to Pyongyang in July to demonstrate the “strategic importance” of the relationship, which Kim said he hoped to take to “a new higher level” level”.
North Korea opposes a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the military action.
The meeting, held at a remote facility in Siberia where Russia’s Soyuz 2 rockets are launched, reflected Kim’s interest in seeking technical assistance from Moscow to build military reconnaissance satellites, which Pyongyang considers crucial to its ambitions to develop nuclear-tipped missiles. According to Russian media reports, Kim Jong Un also plans to visit a factory that produces Sukhoi fighter jets and other aircraft.
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan early Wednesday, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry.
Washington has previously accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons including infantry rockets and missiles to the Kremlin-aligned private army Wagner Group for use in Ukraine, a charge both Russia and North Korea deny.
Analysts estimate that North Korea has a large inventory of aging artillery equipment and rockets that are based on or replicate designs from its former patron, the Soviet Union.
The meeting will also provide Kim with an opportunity to replenish his state coffers as North Korea belatedly reopens from strict coronavirus restrictions that have cut off foreign trade and strangled its economy.
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