Politics

Kim travels in armored train to meet Putin in Russia

Seoul, Sep 12 (EFE).- North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has left Pyongyang in an armored train bound for Russia, where he is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Putin, according to state media on Tuesday.

He is apparently accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Choe Son-hui and Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam, and senior military representatives, including the director of the Munitions Industry Department, photos published by KCNA showed.

They also showed a ceremony to bid farewell to Kim and his entourage in Pyongyang, where his armored train left for Russia on Sunday afternoon (local time), according to the text.

Neither North Korean nor Russian officials have officially confirmed when and where the meeting between the two leaders will take place, but it is expected they will meet in Vladivostok.

The KCNA photos show a group queuing to board the train, including Choe and Kang, two members of the Presidium of the Politburo, Ri Pyong-chol and Pak Jong-chon, and Munitions Industry Department director Jo Chun-ryong.

The presence of the high command and of Jo, who was in charge of Kim’s recent visit to a munitions factory, seems to be in line with last week’s New York Times reports that Putin may be looking to buy North Korean weapons for Moscow to use in Ukraine.

The Munitions Industry Department has been sanctioned since 2016 by United Nations Security Council resolutions, considering that it “oversees [North Korea’s] weapons production and R&D programs, including [North Korea’s] ballistic missile program.”

Also in the delegation was Pak Thae-song, secretary for science and education of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party, which is linked to the North Korean space program.

The New York Times said that in his meeting with Putin, Kim may be expecting to receive advanced technology for satellites, in addition to food aid.

The newspaper added that Pyongyang could also be interested in technology transfers for nuclear-powered submarines, while South Korean intelligence has said that the Kremlin has proposed joint maritime maneuvers.

In that sense, Navy chief Kim Myong-sik is also in the delegation.

Any exchange of weapons or technologies related to North Korea would violate UN sanctions against Pyongyang. EFE

asb/tw

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