The fact that Kim Jong-un is traveling to Vladivostok to meet with Putin means the arms deal is done and North Korean artillery shells should start being delivered to Russian units in Ukraine soon:
Police and military personnel are spotted at a platform of Vladivostok rail station in the far eastern Russian city on Sept. 11, 2023. (Yonhap)
Security measures appeared to have been strengthened at the rail station in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok on Monday amid speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could visit Russia this week for talks with President Vladimir Putin.
As of 5:40 p.m., a large number of police personnel were spotted inside Vladivostok station, unlike the previous day. A South Korean government official told Yonhap News Agency earlier in the day that a special train presumed to be carrying Kim appeared to be traveling to Vladivostok.
Soldiers with service dogs, men in black suits, as well as a black car surrounded by police officials entering the platform were also seen at the station, although it was unclear whether the vehicle was related to Kim’s possible visit.
The New York Times reported last week that Kim plans to travel to Vladivostok, possibly by armored train this month, for talks with Putin to discuss the North’s potential supply of its artillery shells and other weaponry for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Kim Chang-son (L), a North Korean official with the North’s State Affairs Commission, gets out of a vehicle at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, on March 23, 2019. (Yonhap)
A senior North Korean official has left for Vladivostok in Russia’s far east after ending his trip to Moscow in what’s seen as part of preparations for a possible visit there by the North’s leader Kim Jong-un. Kim Chang-son, the official with the North’s State Affairs Commission, was spotted at Sheremetyevo International Airport in the Russian capital city at around 2:45 p.m. Saturday (Russia time). He was in Moscow for five days.
Escorted by two guards, he quickly went into the VIP section, while four others who appeared to be accompanying Kim entered the boarding gate. The Russian Aeroflot SU 1700 flight carrying Kim took off at 4:10 p.m. and was expected to land in Vladivostok early Sunday. The visit by Kim, known as leader Kim Jong-un’s de facto chief of staff, raised speculation that Pyongyang could be making preparations for leader Kim’s first trip to Russia since taking office.
A vehicle possibly carrying Kim Chang-son was seen coming into the Kremlin every day from Wednesday to Friday, suggesting the official held talks with Russian counterparts over logistics and protocol.
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]
