North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has received a Russian-made luxury car from Russian President Vladimir Putin as a gift demonstrating the special bonds between the two leaders, state media reported Tuesday.
The gift serves as a “clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the two leaders and as the best one,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Russia conveyed the vehicle for Kim’s personal use Sunday to Pak Jong-chon, a secretary of the ruling Worker’s Party of Korea, and Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North’s leader. She delivered Kim Jong-un’s thanks to Putin to the Russian side, the report said.
Dictatorship 101 says to put large portraits of yourself everywhere and for Putin he even has the North Koreans putting up his picture now. This is a bit surprising because it makes North Korea look like a vassal state:
Kim Jong Un decorated his walls with huge portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a tour of a state office building, state media images show.
The portraits were visible as the North Korean leader gave a personal tour to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Shoigu was attending a banquet at the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party headquarters in Pyongyang, per the Daily Mail. It comes as the country celebrated the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, which took place from 1950 to 1953.
In the bizarre images, Kim and Shoigu can be seen walking down a corridor while huge portraits of Putin and Kim loom over them from either side.
…and secured his legacy, despite almost 20 years in power, as a 21st century Kim Il Sung: Tough guy at home but a loser around the world who started an unjust war he could not finish. https://t.co/1qZuIOVMyX
I believe Putin just like his buddies in Beijing don’t want the North Korean problem solved because it ties up so many U.S. military and diplomatic assets to deal with that would be otherwise focused on them:
Russian President Vladimir Putin (top left) appears on screen speaking from the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum via virtual link on June 5, 2021. At the center is Cho Sung-boo, CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency, who was among the 16 chiefs of global news agencies that attended the event. (Yonhap)
Putin made the remark during a virtual session with chiefs of global news agencies at an annual economic forum in St. Petersburg on Friday (Russia time), as the nuclear negotiations between the North and the United States remain deadlocked after the breakdown of the Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then U.S. President Donald Trump in early 2019.
“The North Korean nuclear problem is not going to be resolved by pressuring the North and toughening the sanctions against it,” Putin said through an interpreter when asked by Cho Sung-boo, CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency in Seoul to comment on Moscow’s stance on North Korean nuclear issues.
“Only by ensuring the security of its people, and with patience and a careful approach, should we be able to resolve this problem,” he said.
Moscow has favored a phased-in approach to denuclearize the North that would come with reciprocal steps, including a partial lifting of U.N. sanctions, as the regime takes measures to roll back its nuclear program.
If Putin wants reciprocal measures how about he tell Kim Jong-un to start shipping out nuclear material from North Korea? Whenever the apologists talk about reciprocal measures they always demand that the US drop sanctions for little to nothing in return from North Korea:
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, hold talks in Singapore on Nov. 14, 2018. (Yonhap)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, talked about easing sanctions on North Korea in their talks Wednesday on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore, Moon’s office said.
Moon requested Moscow’s active role in efforts to persuade Pyongyang to take denuclearization steps in a “bolder manner,” according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.
They had “comprehensive” discussions on the terms and conditions of easing sanctions on the North, he added.
In the 58-minute meeting, Putin was quoted as telling Moon that there should be reciprocal measures if there is progress in denuclearization.
The meeting, their fourth since Moon took office last year, came days after high-level denuclearization negotiations between the United States and the North were abruptly called off last week.
In Wednesday’s meeting, Moon and Putin were expected to discuss ways to get the denuclearization talks restarted at an early date, as well as measures to further strengthen relations between the two countries. [Yonhap]
It looks like Kim Jong-un may be heading off to Russia in the near future:
Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of Russia’s Federation Council,shakes hands with Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong at the presidential office in Seoul on Friday. Yonhap
Pyongyang and Moscow are working to arrange an official visit to Russia for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a top Russian politician revealed Friday.
“(I) attended North Korea’s 70th foundation anniversary event on orders from President Putin,” Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of Russia’s Federation Council, told Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong ahead of her meeting with President Moon Jae-in. “There was a meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-un. (Moscow and Pyongyang) are negotiating on the dates and location of the Chairman Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia.”
Matviyenko’s comments confirm rumors that have been circulating for some time, regarding the possibility that Kim might be planning to travel to Moscow in the near future. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link, but this could just be more optics to make Kim Jong-un look more like a legitimate world leader by visiting Russia. The timing of this will be interesting to see if he visits Putin before meeting with President Trump if a second Trump-Kim summit does in fact happen.
President Moon Jae-in (L) talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow on June 22, 2018, while having a summit there. (Yonhap)
It looks like President Moon is in Russia setting conditions for any future summit between Putin and Kim Jong-un:
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook arrive in Moscow on June 21, 2018 for a three-day state visit that will include a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Yonhap)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in began his three-day state visit to Russia on Thursday for a bilateral summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that will likely focus on ways to boost the countries’ economic cooperation, as well as joint efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons.
Moon’s trip marked the first state visit to Russia by a South Korean leader since 1999, according to his office Cheong Wa Dae.
He was set to deliver a special speech at the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, becoming the first South Korean president to do so in history.
He will also meet Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev later in the day for bilateral talks on ways to expand their countries’ bilateral cooperation, Cheong Wa Dae said.
The Moon-Putin summit will be held on Friday, marking the third of its kind since Moon took office in May 2017. The two first met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit held in Germany in July. They last met in September, when Moon attended the annual Eastern Economic Forum held in the Russian city of Vladivostok. [Yonhap]
With Russian President Vladimir Putin inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to his country, expectations are that leaders from the two Koreas may meet in Russia this fall for the first time in a third country.
The Kremlin said Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov delivered Putin’s letter of invitation to Kim for an upcoming economic forum set to take place in Vladivostok in September. This came during the minister’s visit to Pyongyang last month when he met with the regime’s leader to discuss the ongoing denuclearization drive on the Korean Peninsula and Russia’s role to realize the goal.
“Details and time will be further coordinated through diplomatic channels (for Kim’s possible visit to Russia),” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He said the forum is one of the options that will allow Kim’s possible trip to the country. [Korea Times]
It appears Vladimir Putin does not want to be left out of the current negotiations that are occurring before the ROK-DPRK and US-DPRK summits:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has received an invitation to visit Russia, according to U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats.
Coats’ claim adds to speculation that Kim may meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to bolster diplomatic leverage on North Korea’s nuclear program before a planned inter-Korean summit on April 27.
Kim, who visited Chinese President Xi Jinping in late March, is scheduled to send his Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho to Russia next week.
Russian news agency TASS reported that on Wednesday Coats mentioned Kim’s invitation to Moscow when asked about the possibility of resuming the six-party talks on North Korea’s denuclearization in the wake of the Kim-Xi meeting.
TASS said the DNI chief told reporters in Washington, D.C., he is trying to discover what the North Korean leader intends to discuss in Russia. [Korea Times]
