Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, met with President Vladimir Putin in Russia on Wednesday for a rare summit that could result in a deal for weapons that the US has warned would violate UN sanctions.
The North Korean leader arrived in his bullet-proof train at the border town of Khasan on Tuesday and was greeted by an honor guard and officials. His entourage suggested that the talks would have a major military focus, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The latest in a series of sanctions-busting tests, North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Wednesday while Kim was in Russia, according to the South Korean military.
First international trip for Kim since the crisis, Kim said his visit was “a clear manifestation” of North Korea “prioritizing the strategic importance” of its relations with Russia.
Then, according to KCNA, he “left for his destination”. North Korea and Russia have not provided any more information about his travel plans.
The Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian spaceport located around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Vladivostok, is where Putin promised journalists he would go.
In advance of the summit on Wednesday, according to Russian sources cited by Japan’s Kyodo News Agency, Putin was already at the Cosmodrome waiting for Kim’s train to arrive.
Kyodo reported that “according to Russian official sources, security has been stepped up around the space station” as Kim’s train moved north.
Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, who recently suggested bilateral cooperative naval exercises and visited Pyongyang in July, will participate in the talks, according to Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, according to RIA Novosti and TASS.
Along with other senior military figures, including Marshal Pak Jong Chon of the Korean People’s Army and Director Jo Chun Ryong of the Munitions Industry Department, Kim is visiting Russia.
