North Korea’s Kim Jong-un ‘planning rare trip to Russia’ to discuss arms deal with Putin | World | News

Kim Jong-un is planning to travel to Russia this month to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, it has been reported.

American and allies believe the North Korean leader would be willing to make a rare foreign trip in order to hash out details of a rumoured arms deal, it has been claimed.

The officials, the New York Times wrote, believe the dictator would travel from Pyongyang to Vladivostok, a city on the Russian Pacific coast, to meet Putin.

The leader of the hermit country may also go to Moscow, if the trip recently undertaken by 20 North Korean officials first to Vladivostock and then to Moscow can be considered a blueprint of what’s to come – although the US officials aren’t certain about this possibility.

The crux of these talks would focus on chances for Putin to receive ammunition and weapons from Mr Kim to be used in Ukraine, the officials said.

On the other hand, the North Korean leader is likely to want advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines – as well as food aid from Russia.

North Korea may find itself once again on the brink of a famine, which in the 1990s killed millions of people, as Pyongyang is struggling to feed its people even more in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

But Mr Kim is believed to be particularly interested in being able to further arm his army to be ever-ready to strike against the US and South Korea.

On Monday, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu also acknowledged his country is contemplating holding joint military drills with China and North Korea.

Asked about reports he proposed to Mr Kim in July to carry out these joint exercises, he said: “Why not? These are our neighbours. There’s an old Russian saying: You don’t choose your neighbours, and it’s better to live with your neighbours in peace and harmony.”

Mr Shoigu had travelled to North Korea in July to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, a trip which also saw the presence of a Chinese delegation led by Li Hongzhong, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.