After their first face-to-face meeting in four years, Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted Kim Jong Un’s invitation to travel to North Korea, according to Al Jazeera.
Kim is in Russia’s Far East as Putin works to forge closer connections while also boosting his country’s military modernization in the middle of Russia’s lengthy confrontation in Ukraine.
He extended the offer to Putin at “a convenient time” during a reception to commemorate the end of the day after more than four hours of talks and a visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome space center.
“Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure and reaffirmed his will to invariably carry forward the history and tradition of the Russia-DPRK friendship,” Al Jazeera reported North Korean state news agency KCNA as saying on Thursday.
As a result of the talks in Russia, there is worry not only in the US but also internationally that Kim may be prepared to supply Moscow with weapons for its conflict in Ukraine in exchange for technology that would help him advance his military objectives.
In addition, the North Korean leader is anticipated to go to Vladivostok to see Russia’s Pacific fleet and stop by an aviation factory. The director of the nation’s weapons department, the defence minister, and the top military commander are all members of Kim’s entourage.