North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who last visited Russia in 2019, came to Russia upon Putin’s invitation. Putin, whose meeting with President Erdoğan was closely followed recently, showed Kim Jong-un around the space base.
KREMLIN ANNOUNCED THE MEETING
According to the statement made by the Kremlin, Putin and Kim met at the Vostonchny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Amur region.
Kim, who was welcomed by Putin at the base, thanked Putin for inviting him to Russia despite his busy schedule.
PUTIN: THE DATE OF THE VISIT IS IMPORTANT
Stating that the visit took place on an important date for North Korea, Putin said, “I am very glad to see you. These important events are the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Republic, the 70th anniversary of the Great War of Independence, and the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.” he said.
THEY EXAMINED ANGARA
The two leaders toured the facilities of the new base and examined the assembly workshop of the “Angara” space rocket complex launch vehicle, the launch complex of the “Soyuz-2” spacecraft and the launch complex under construction for the “Angara” vehicle.
During Putin and Kim’s inspection of the facilities, Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) President Yuriy Borisov and Space Infrastructure Operations Center General Manager Nikolay Nesterchuk made a presentation.
WHO CAME BY SPECIAL TRAIN
Kim came to the area where the Vostochniy Cosmodrome is located by a special train and drove to the base.
After their inspections at the space base, the leaders of the two countries held talks with the participation of their accompanying delegations.
IT WAS ALLEGED THAT THEY WERE GOING TO NEGOTIATE ARMS
John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator of the US National Security Council, stated in his statement last month that North Korea and Russia are actively engaged in arms negotiations, and said, “Following these negotiations, high-level talks may continue in the coming months. With potential agreements, Russia is seeking support from North Korea in Ukraine.” “It can acquire significant quantities and various types of ammunition that it plans to use,” he said.
Last week, the US press claimed that Kim would go to Russia to negotiate arms with Putin. It was claimed that the leaders would discuss a plan that would see North Korea supply artillery shells and anti-tank missiles to Russia in exchange for Moscow providing satellites and nuclear submarines to Pyongyang.
CALL FROM THE USA TO KIM
Before the critical meeting of the leaders, a warning call came from the USA. Emphasizing that a potential arms deal will be on the agenda during Kim and Putin’s meeting, White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said, “We call on North Korea to comply with Pyongyang’s public commitments not to supply or sell weapons to Russia.” he said.
(AA-IHA)