_01-res.jpg) Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin meeting at Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast, Russia (13 September 2023) | |
| Date | September 13–17, 2023 (2023-09-13 –2023-09-17) |
|---|---|
| Location | Vostochny Cosmodrome,Tsiolkovsky,Amur Oblast,Russia |
| Participants |  Vladimir Putin(President) Kim Jong Un(General Secretary &President of the State Affairs) |
On September 13–17, 2023,General Secretary of the Workers' Party of KoreaKim Jong Un visitedRussia. This was Kim's firstofficial visit overseas since the start of theCOVID-19 pandemic in North Korea in 2020, and came afterNorth Korea–Russia relations improved significantly following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1]
The visit included asummit meeting betweenNorth Korea and Russia where Kim Jong Un met with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin on 13 September 2023. The meeting was held at theVostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East.[2]
In early September 2023, it was reported that Kim Jong Un would be visiting Russia sometime that month.[3] On 10 September, the meeting was confirmed by both sides after Kim Jong Un departedPyongyang with his personal armoured train that he had previously used to visit Russiain 2019.[4]
Russian defence ministerSergei Shoigu attended official celebrations of the 70th anniversary of "Victory Day" in Pyongyang a month prior.[5][6] Sinceits invasion of Ukraine, Russia has faced severe labor shortages,[7][8] lack of international support and ammunition shortages.[9] There was speculation that the meeting was to centre around the possibility of Russia receiving large amounts of North Korean ammunition stockpiles from the Soviet era, in exchange for Russian help in developing technology and resource aid.[10]
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Kim arrived in theNorth Korean leaders' train inKhasan,Primorsky Krai, Russia on 12 September,[11] where he met with Minister of National Resources and EnvironmentAlexander Kozlov and Primorsky Krai governorOleg Kozhemyako.[12] He then left, and continued, arriving at theVostochny Cosmodrome on 13 September, where he met with Putin. During the meeting, Kim once again gave his support for Russia's "sacred fight" against the west, expressing his "...support for all the measures taken by the Russian government, and [he] takes this opportunity again to affirm that [he] will always be with Russia." When asked if Russia would help North Korea build satellites, Putin said "that's why [they] came here."[13][14]
Kim, after the summit, visited an advanced fighter jet manufacturing plant under sanctions, in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia on September 15.[15][16] On 16 September, Kim visited the Mariinsky Theater in Vladivostok, where he watchedPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky'sThe Sleeping Beauty. He also visited theFar Eastern Federal University on 17 September, as well as the Primorsky Oceanarium.[17] Kim's trip concluded that day.[18]
President ofBelarusAlexander Lukashenko proposed a three-way cooperation pact with Russia and North Korea.[19]
United States government officials expressed concern with the visit, already seeing North Korea's open support for Russia, and warned that a circumvention of sanctions in the context of military support in theRussian invasion of Ukraine would prompt the United States to identify the methods used to "at least limit their ability to be effective".[20]United Nations Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres said that "any form of cooperation of any country with North Korea must respect the sanctions regime that was imposed by theSecurity Council."[20]
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