That is what the Korea Times is speculating about:
Vladimir Putin
With North Korean leader Kim Jong-un making a surprise visit to China, chances are that the dictator will also hold dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The possibility has risen after Kim ended his four-day state visit to Beijing on Wednesday. Kim, accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol-ju, met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The meeting between the two leaders came at a time when the North Korean leader plans to hold dialogue with President Moon Jae-in and United States President Donald Trump in April and May, respectively.
Kim’s unprecedented active determination for dialogue also raises hopes for a possible meeting with the Russian leader.
The Kremlin dismissed the possibility for a potential summit between Kim and Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that no schedule for the summit has been arranged and is not under review at the moment.
But chances are that Pyongyang and Moscow could join hands, as Russia also apparently hopes to play a part in the ongoing North Korea nuclear issues. [Korea Times]
I guess we will see over the next month if Putin wants to insert himself into the current negotiations going on over the future of the Korean peninsula.
Here is the latest on what Russian strongman President Vladimir Putin had to say about the current crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program:
Vladimir Putin
A global strike to disarm North Korea would be possible, yet its outcome uncertain, as it is a “closed state,” Russian President Vladimir Putin stated.
“Let us speak to the point, after all – can someone launch a global disarming strike? Indeed. Will it reach its targets? It’s unclear because no one knows for sure what is where,” Putin said while addressing the 2017 International Forum on Energy Efficiency on Wednesday.
He added there is no “100 percent knowledge” about North Korea’s objects as it is “a closed country.”
Meanwhile, Putin said, coercive rhetoric against Pyongyang and attempts “to speak from a position of strength” only give more power to the North Korean leadership.
The Russian leader urged all sides to cool down their rhetoric and engage in dialogue.
“All sides must ease rhetoric and find ways for face-to-face dialogue between the United States and North Korea, as well as between North Korea and countries in the region,” he said.
“Only this would help find balanced and reasonable decisions.”
“At any rate, it is not my cup of tea to define and assess policies of the United States president,” Putin added. [Russia Today]
You can read more at the link. Of course no one knows exactly where every strategic military asset the North Koreans have is located at. However, we do know where the Yonbyong nuclear facility, their test launch site, SLBM barge, and missile manufacturing facilities are located at. Taking those out would not end their nuclear or missile programs, but would set them back.
I am sure the irony is lost on few that President Putin is advocating against militarism and provocations and instead for everyone to get together and talk considering how own actions in Ukraine and Georgia in recent years:
(CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed into the North Korea crisis, warning the US and others against going down a “dead-end road” and calling for talks to resolve the issue.
“Russia believes that the policy of putting pressure on Pyongyang to stop its nuclear missile program is misguided and futile,” Putin said in an article released Thursday by the Kremlin, ahead of the BRICS summit in Xiamen, China.
“The region’s problems should only be settled through a direct dialogue of all the parties concerned without any preconditions. Provocations, pressure and militarist and insulting rhetoric are a dead-end road,” Putin said.
Russia was a participant in the six-party talks, which took place in the mid-2000s in an attempt to get North Korea to abandon its then burgeoning nuclear program. [CNN]
I don’t think too many world leaders would want to have a photo op with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un; so I can’t blame President Park for turning down this invitation:
South Korean President Park Geun-hye is not expected to attend Russia’s World War II victory anniversary celebration next month, an event North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is scheduled to show up at.
Instead, Park will dispatch a special envoy to Moscow, the ruling Saenuri Party’s Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.
There was anticipation of a possible summit between the North and South Korean leaders at the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II on May 9 should Park have chosen to accept the Kremlin’s invitation.
Russia invited world leaders, including Park and Kim, to the event last December. North Korea’s Kim accepted the invitation last month, according to Russian officials.
Kim, should he visit Russia next month for the event, would be embarking on his first foreign trip after succeeding his father in December 2011. It would mark the first time a North Korean leader did not visit China as his first overseas destination. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
South Korean President Park Geun-hye (R) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Nov. 11, 2014, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae released the photo on Nov. 17. (Yonhap)
