<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/17/vladimir-putin-to-visit-north-korea-as-he-seeks-further-military-support>
"Vladimir Putin has praised North Korea for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine,
as he travels to Pyongyang to seek continued military support from one of the
world’s most isolated nations.
In his first visit to North Korea since 2000, Putin will meet Kim Jong-un for
one-on-one talks in Pyongyang as the two leaders pledge to expand their
security and economic cooperation in defiance of western sanctions against both
countries.
Putin is expected to arrive in North Korea late on Tuesday,
Agence
France-Presse reported, with a large entourage of government ministers and
advisers, including those responsible for the Russian military and weapons
procurement. They include his new defence minister, Andrey Belousov, and Denis
Manturov, his top deputy prime minister overseeing the defence sector.
In an article written for Korea’s
Central News Agency on Tuesday, Putin
praised North Korea for “firmly supporting” Moscow’s war in Ukraine, writing
that he plans to lift relations with Pyongyang to a higher level.
“The program is very full,” said Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. “A considerable
amount of time will be dedicated to informal contacts between the leaders, as
these negotiations … will contain the most important and most sensitive
questions.”
It is a rare trip abroad for Putin, who has limited his international travel to
friendly countries since he launched the full-scale invasion and became the
subject of an international criminal court arrest warrant for the mass
deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.
North Korea has supplied Russia with millions of rounds of Soviet-era artillery
munitions as a crucial lifeline to prop up the Russian military campaign in
Ukraine. The US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, last month told lawmakers
that the supplies of munitions and missiles, as well as Iranian drones, had
helped the Russian military “get back up on their feet”.
North Korea has also provided Russia with ballistic missiles and electronic
equipment used in the war effort.
In return, Russia is believed to have provided aid to North Korea’s satellite
programme, as well as other arms, economic aid and diplomatic support. Kim
visited Russia’s far east last year, meeting Putin in Vladivostok during a trip
where he visited a factory producing modern fighter jets and the Vostochny
cosmodrome."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
